Time and Fate
by Soranium
Summary: Why it's called Time and Fate? Read to find out.
1. I Get Bonked on the Head

Whoops! I forgot to add a disclaimer. Please enjoy reading this first chapter of the story entitled Time and Fate.

Oh, and a note to OC haters, the main character of this first arc of my story is an OC, so if you don't like that, then don't read this fic. And if you did, don't flame me for it.

Also, please don't forget to leave a comment. I'm writing a fic to improve my writing skills (typing skills too). So please, even a minor comment will be a great help to the improvement of this fic, and my writing.

Disclaimer: Soranium does not own Grand Chase and any of its characters.

* * *

I walked into our home carrying a plastic bag containing a box of delicious caramel cake, a half-gallon of ice cream, and some potato chips. It was a hot summer's day, at about 120 degrees Fahrenheit. Before I proceeded to our kitchen, I laid down the plastic bag on the living room table just to lighten up my load. As I walked into the kitchen, I had the foreboding that I was about to see something that would ruin my day. I was right.

As I entered our kitchen, the first thing that caught my eye was a sticky note attached to our refrigerator. I knew exactly what would be written on it, but I still went ahead and red it. It was a note from my mom.

_Mark, I left my gift in your room. There's lasagna inside the fridge. Just dump it in the oven and set the timer to 10 minutes. I already set the temperature for you. I love you. –Mom_

She forgot to say 'Happy Birthday' in the note. She's never forgotten to add Happy Birthday to her previous notes.

Yes, notes, with stress on the word 'notes'.

Today is my sixteenth birthday. The last birthday I had where she was present was my fifth. Ever since, she has yet to fail to be absent. That's right, all ten of them to date. Eleven, if you count today.

I was used to it, but I still felt very upset. I know she's busy, but this is just extreme. Every time I asked her, she explained that summer was the time when her post was most hectic in the year. This time, I actually journeyed home from the sweets store with hopes of finding my mom, but I guess I couldn't be so lucky.

Why shouldn't I be upset? My dad left us when I was still too young to remember. Mom never gave any details on how he left, even when I push her to. The thought never fails to give me a bad feeling that he abandoned us on purpose, for another woman, or worse: another man. Anyways, my mom was my only family, so I get very upset every time this happens. I try to act like I'm used to it, but I absolutely am not.

Sighing, I went back to the living room to take the food. I hefted the plastic bag, which seemed a big deal heavier than usual, maybe because the ice cream has started melting, or because I was feeling so down. I stared at the Ice Cream inside the plastic bag. _Mango flavor, Mom's favorite,_ I thought. I shook the thought away. She's not here anyway, so no point contemplating her favorite flavor or anything.

I extracted the Ice Cream from the bag, and opened the refrigerator. The lasagna was there, waiting to be microwaved. _Lasagna, my favorite, _I thought again. I ignored it. I placed the Ice Cream in the freezer. Then I collected the Potato Chips from the bag. Sour Cream and Onion flavor. _Mom and I used to eat this together when we watched TV_, I thought, then, _gosh, these thoughts are annoying._ I dropped them at the Crisper and closed the refrigerator door.

I took out the cake from its box and placed it on the table. I stared at its caramelized magnificence, and started singing.

"Happy birthday to me… Happy birthday to me… *sniff* *sniff*"

_Why am I upset? It's my effing birthday. Man up, Mark. Birthdays are supposed to be fun._

"Happy birthday, happy birthday… *sniff* Happy birthday to me. *forces a smile*"

_There, that's better._

Then I started bawling.

"Why isn't she here? Does she even care about me?"

I toppled the table, causing the cake to splatter on the kitchen floor. I then knelt down on the floor, covered my eyes, and let my emotions take me over.

"Gaahhh! I wish she knew how it felt like to not have me!"

And that's when it happened.

I felt the air escape my lungs. I felt the air pressure decrease. Then I realized that the air has started moving and was already spinning around me.

"W-w-what's happening? Mom? Are you doing this? "

It slowly gained momentum. I tried to step away from the windy vortex that has started enveloping me, but no such luck. It followed me where ever I went.

"M-mom? I'm sorry! I didn't mean what I said!"

Now the velocity of the mini cyclone was so high that it has started to lift me off the ground. That's when I lost my cool.

"Who's doing this? Please stop it! Whatever I did, I'm sorry! Please, just stop it! I'm getting dizzy!"

At this point, something impossible occurred. The wind was now spinning so fast that it literally created a tear in the fabric of the universe. That's when I started screaming.

"MOM! HELP! ANYBODY, PLEASE SA-"

I was cut off when something large hit the back of my head. I slowly drifted into unconsciousness. The last sounds I heard were that of a female voice, probably my mom, and another voice, a male voice, wherein the sound seemed to come from very far, but also seemed to come from right beside me, though what he said was quite unclear to me. I caught one last glimpse of my mom before I fainted. Little did I know there was a microscopic chance of me ever seeing her again.

* * *

"Oh come on! Where the hell's Ronan when you need him?" I complained as I dodged a tail swipe from the Basilisk, which could have killed me on impact.

"Stop complaining, Elesis! We totally have this battle in the bag!" Dio answered as he sunk his spear in a chink in the serpent's skin.

"Graaaaaaaaaaaaakkk!" The serpent bellowed in pain.

"Yeah, no thanks to you. Deep Impact!" Arme chimed in as meteors suddenly rained down on the Basilisk.

* * *

**Deep Impact**

Spawns numerous large flaming boulder-like meteors in a similar manner to Meteor but much Larger.

MP Cost: 3 Bars

Prerequisites: Battle Mage Certification, Open Battlefield

* * *

"What did you say, runt?" I answered as I prepared my attack. "Air Spiral!" I leaped up at terminal velocity and slashing the serpent multiple times before applying all of my weight on my sword and directing it downward for a painful slash.

* * *

**Air Spiral**

A powerful ability that throws multiple sword waves upward followed by a downward slash.

MP Cost: 3 Bars

Prerequisite: Swordsmanship, Light - Average Weight

* * *

Sadly, my barrage wasn't enough to take it down.

I noticed that Arme's movements were starting to get sluggish, so I wracked my brains for a way to finish the battle quickly. No point in attaining unnecessary casualties.

"Dio! Finish it quickly!" I commanded.

"You don't need to tell me twice! Cover me for a sec…" Dio answered.

"Yeah. Sure. Whatever." I replied.

"Graaaaaaaaaaaaakkk!" the Basilisk screeched as it brought down it's hand on Dio.

I blocked the hand with my sword. I held it for a few seconds, but I knew I couldn't hold it any longer.

"Take your time, Dio! We're not about to be crushed by a GIANT RAMPAGING SERPENT!" I told him sarcastically.

"Alright! I'm done!" He said, and started running toward the Basilisk's head.

I noticed that he changed his weapon to a claw. Then I realized what he was about to do was a bit overkill. I also noticed the Basilisk's other hand approach me at a speed which would apply a LOT of hurt to anything living it collides with.

"Ha! So that's what took you so long!" I shouted to Dio as I released my lock with the Basilisk's hand, achieving a near miss with the Basilisk's swipe. _That was close,_ I thought.

Dio leaped into the air. "Here's the finish!" He arched back, and everything within a 10 meter radius around him started to darken, everything near him were being pulled in, as though his density has increased so much that it has created a miniature gravitational field. Even the enormous Basilisk couldn't resist its pull."Black Spa-Huh?"

* * *

**Incomplete Black Space**

Dio executes Black Space, but fails to finish it, so it deals decreased total damage.

AP Cost: 37 AP

Prerequisites: Black Space, Spell Abortion Lvl. 3, Get Surprised by Something

* * *

I was surprised when he cut his skill short, like something took him aback. But I wasn't looking at him at the moment, because I was busy bashing the Basilisk. So whatever it was, it absolutely did not help in finishing the reptile off. Even Arme stopped moving at that point, also shocked from whatever just happened. _Heh, I guess this is up to me, then,_ I thought.

As I charged the Basilisk, I sheathed my sword and pulled my spear from behind me. I stopped running and prepared my stance for my finishing attack. I pulled the spear a little bit, and used all my power to stab at the air. "Dragon Slash!"

* * *

**Dragon Slash**

Hurls a fiery energy lance forward. A very powerful attack that travels continuously. However, it lacks a lot of speed.

MP Cost: 3 Bars

Prerequisites: Spear Mastery, Battle Awareness Lvl 4

* * *

My action created a straight wave of energy. "Grraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaakkkk!"This wave pierced the Basilisk's heart, finally silencing it. _Heh, that was a lot harder than I anticipated_, I thought.

As the Basilisk's head approached the ground, I went to check on Dio. Arme seemed to regain her bearings and started to scavenge the battlefield for spoils. Dio had assumed a crouched position, seemingly observing something with intense concentration.

"Hey! What was that about? I almost di…"but my statement was lost in space as I saw what he was looking at. "Who the hell is that?" I asked.

Dio turned around. "I absolutely have no idea. While I was executing Black Space, he suddenly appeared. If he was just some ordinary guy, I'd say leave him here. But I have a strong feeling he isn't just our average Joe," he stated.

"Then why didn't you finish your attack?" I spouted angrily.

At this point, Arme decided to join the conversation. "Because the poor guy would have been crushed into smithereens if he did, El. Have some common sense for a change."

As I was about to make a retort, Dio talked, "as much as I enjoy listening to your bickering, we still have to get this guy to a safe place. He's injured pretty badly, and I'm afraid I'm responsible for that. What do you say we take him to the camp right now?"

"But were not done with exploring the Shrine of Ruin yet…" I complained.

"Elesis! I can't believe you would put exploring before the safety of other people. We're not the Grand Chase for nothing, you know." Arme scolded.

"Ugh. Alright, we can bring him. But he's your responsibility. Deal?" I asked, in a manner that meant I won't take no for an answer.

"Deal." Dio and Arme answered together.

* * *

EDIT: Added Skill Descriptions


	2. I Meet an Elf

Please enjoy this second chapter of Time and Fate!

Oh, and before I forget, please leave a comment, and please don't flame. Thanks!

Disclaimer: Soranium owns neither Grand Chase and its Characters nor Apple. soranium21 doesn't even own an iPad. Or an iPod

* * *

I came to feeling like road kill. And I talk from experience. When I was 8, a car hit me while I was crossing the road on my way home. When I woke up at the hospital, I was all patched up, and my body hurt all over. That's how I felt like right now.

I struggled to remember what happened to me.

_Oh, that's right. I suddenly started floating and something heavy hit the back of my head which made me faint._

I slowly opened my eyes, adapting to the piercing brightness of the sunlight from outside. I looked around and saw that I was in a fairly large tent, enough to accommodate about 10 people, 20 if they stand like sardines in a can.

_Wait, what am I doing in a tent? Where am I?_

I tried to sit up, but I felt a stinging sensation in my abdomen and at the same time, my head hurt like crazy.

"Ow!*groan*" I crashed back down into the bed.

"Oh, you're finally awake," said a female voice from somewhere in the room, "it was hard nursing you. You were asleep for like 2 days."

_2 days? Wow, I was knocked up pretty badly, then. _I thought.

I looked toward the source of the voice and saw the most welcome sight I've seen since I woke up. A blonde girl was sitting on a chair, wearing an eccentric and revealing green costume, as though she was going to a cosplay convention. But what caught my attention the most was her, ehem, racks. I actually stared at it for seconds, though it seemed like minutes to me. When I finally gathered enough self-control, I forced myself to look up, and saw that she had a beautiful face.

_Ah, shiny eyes, silky hair, perfect nose, charming smile, porcelain skin, pointy ears, clean tee… POINTY EARS?_

"Yes, pointy ears. I'm an elf, see." The blond girl said.

"An elf? But elves don't exist!" I replied with an incredulous look in my face.

"Yes, we do. I'm living proof, aren't I? Anyways, let me introduce myself to you. Hi, I'm Lire." She said coolly.

"This is unbelievable. I'm confused." I thought for a while, and realized something. "Wait, how did you know I was thinking you had pointy ears?"

"Greetings, Confused. As for your question, I can read minds. Some elves can." She replied again.

I gave up trying to contemplate if that's even possible. I knew thinking too much would just drive me crazy.

"The name's Mark, not Confused. Wait, if you can read minds, then did you hear my thoughts before I looked at your face?" I asked, fearing that she heard my thoughts about her, uhh, assets.

"Teehee. Hello then, Mark. I need eye contact to establish the link required to read minds. So no, All I heard was 'pointy ears, clean tee… POINTY EARS?' My mind reading isn't that good yet." She said, now with a light tone in her voice.

I looked away, so she can't read any more of my thoughts.

"Hahaha. That's good for you. Anyway, where am I?" I asked.

"Hmm? You're at our encampment. We're somewhere in the woods in Ellia Continent." She answered.

"Ellia Continent? Wait… Aren't there only 7 continents?" I asked.

"7 CONTINENTS? But we only know of 4 continents! Bermesiah, Ellia, Xenia, and Archaemedia. What are the other 3?" She asked back.

"Xenia? There's no place called Xenia! All I know of are North and South America, Asia, Africa, and the others!" I exclaimed, now thoroughly confused. I didn't even notice that I have already sat up. "Ow!*groan*" I crashed back down to bed.

"Are you absolutely sure about what you're talking about? Because I have a theory on why we know different continents." She inquired, only this time she had a very serious look in her face.

"Yes, I'm absolutely sure. I LIVE in Asia. Why? What's you theory?" I asked, though I had a feeling that her theory is same as the theory I just thought of, and it didn't make me happy. I was still trying to believe that I was wrong and she was going to disprove my theory.

"You see, I think you come from another world. Another universe, even. Another reality. Someplace where elves don't exist." Lire stated matter-of-factly.

"…" Words left me. Of course she was right. We were both right. I was just having a problem at accepting it.

* * *

"So I guess I'll go call the others then. I'll tell them you're awake." I told Mark. It was hard to look at his anguish, though it was easy to understand why. He seemed absolutely confused of what was happening. It seems he understood the news, but didn't know how to react to it.

"Yeah, sure. Whatever." He answered with a sunken look on his face, as though he just found out he was going to be expelled from a school.

"Cheer up, Mark. You will get home. I promise." I said, trying to comfort him.

"Super." He answered, with an obvious taint of sarcasm.

I sighed, and left him in the tent to contemplate and to tell the others that he's awake.

As I was walking toward the other tent, his thoughts (the ones I accessed without his permission) started to ring in my head, specifically the first part.

'_Ah, shiny eyes, silky hair, perfect nose, charming smile, porcelain skin'_

I blushed lightly. _Does he think of me like that? _I thought.

* * *

"Gah! Owie. Ah biff ma thong!" I exclaimed.

"Aw, somebody bit their tongue? Need any help, princess? Should I kiss your boo boo away?" Sieghart teased.

"Sha af! Ah doh need yoh insals!" I replied angrily.

"Yah, Sieg. Stop insultin Ronan. Da guy migh go all Death Star on ya." Ryan chimed in.

"Yeah sure. Whatever. Anyways, you say you bit your tongue? Isn't that a sign of something? Like somebody was talking about you?" Sieghart commented.

"Nah, tha's fo sneezing. When ya bite ya tongue, t'means sum persun jus thought bout ya." Ryan stated.

"Someone's coming." Lass said.

We tensed. We each grabbed their weapons - Sieghart with his Claymore, Me with my Tyrrfing, and Ryan with his Scythe - and we just stood there, dead silent.

At that moment, Lire entered the tent. She was shocked when all of us were poised to strike her, except Lass, who seemed amused.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you it was Lire." Lass said, a smug smile spreading across his face.

The three of us, Me, Sieghart and Ryan, turned to him, but all he did was exit the tent as though nothing happened.

"W-what's with the weapons, guys?" Lire said, breaking the silence. We totally forgot she was there, and we also forgot to lower our guards. The 3 of us relaxed then.

"Lass just used the _selective disinformation_ tactic on us." I told Lire, now speaking fluently as all the pain left me when I saw her face.

_Ah, when I see her, I just want to sing her a love song describing how beautiful she is, but I just can't find any song appropriate for her beauty, for all the songs I know or I have heard simply understates those shiny eyes, silky hair, perfect nose, charming smile, porcelain skin, and marble teeth. _I thought.

Sieghart snapped me out of my trance. "Hey princess, how long are you gonna stare at Lire?"

"I wasn't staring! Anyways, I'm all ears. Why'd you come here, Lire? Is the guy Dio found awake now?" I asked.

"Yes he is. So we all go there and talk to him. Ryan, please call the other guys. I'll go look for the girls. Hopefully, they're still at the lake, fishing."

"Yes siree!" Ryan answered.

"Now, which one of you guys would volunteer to go look for Lass?" Lire inquired.

"I am absolutely not doing it. Ask lover boy here. He'll do anything you say." Sieghart replied.

"Hey! That was uncalled for! *sigh* Oh well. I guess I'll have to do it. Old man Sieghart here can't because he's got osteoporosis. You know, because of OLD AGE!" I retorted.

Then I ran. I ran far, far away. The last sound I heard from the tent was Sieghart screaming. "WHO YOU CALLING OLD, PRINCESS?"

* * *

I finally gathered enough strength to sit up on my bed. I looked at myself.

I was still wearing the same clothes: black slacks with belt, and a plain white undershirt. My polo shirt with my school's insignia was hanging on a nearby chair. My socks were inside my shoes, laid in an orderly fashion.

Why I was wearing a school uniform during summer, you say? Well, my mom is always very busy anytime at home, so school's the only place where I have any human company. Of course I miss school. I miss school a lot.

And now that I'm here in this bizarre new place, I'm not sure if I can still have that. So I'll miss it even more.

_Do they even have schools here?_ I thought. All I knew was that there were elves here. _Well, at least I won't be shocked if they told me dragons and deities exist in this place._

Honestly, I was still wishing that I was just in some reality TV show, where they just hired that girl, what's her name again? Liar? Whatever.

I thought that maybe I'd be right this time, but as I thought it over, I knew that wasn't possible. I never get anything right; unless it's a negative thought, then I always get it right.

I lay back down on the bed and sighed.

_Ugh. I'm so hungry, I could eat a horse._ I thought.

I wondered what my mom was doing.

_I bet she's having the time of her life._ I thought.

* * *

I closed the garage door, and then I went back to the car and locked it.

_Oh wait, the lasagna's still inside. _I thought. I reopened the car door, extracted the package from it, and locked it again.

I entered the house through the door connecting the garage to the kitchen. I took the pad of sticky notes from on top of the refrigerator. I took a pen from my bag and scribbled down a note for Mark.

_Mark, I left my gift in your room. There's lasagna inside the fridge. Just dump it in the oven and set the timer to 10 minutes. I already set the temperature for you. I love you. –Mom_

I had no time to waste. He was going to be here in a little while. I hurriedly dumped the lasagna in the refrigerator and stuck the note on the refrigerator door. I then quickly went over to the oven and set the temperature meter to 110 degrees Celsius.

I then quickly went upstairs, to his room. As I opened the door to his room, I heard the front door's knob click, alarming me that it has been unlocked. I quickly stepped into the room and closed it as quickly and gently as I could. I then sat down on his bed and patiently waited.

As I was waiting, I pulled out the gift I bought for him, an iPad, from my bag. I bought it because I saw that students around him at school also had them. I placed it on my lap. As I looked down on it, a thought struck me.

_Mark never asks anything from me. He never pesters me to buy something or do something for him. I know that's a bad sign. If only he was here, he'd know how to do it right._

My thoughts accidentally strayed to the memories I have always locked away, the memories I have always kept hidden in the bottom of a deep abyss, vaulted with an infinity code, and resides on a desolate corner of my brain. Before I knew it, tears were streaming down my cheeks, and fell on the iPad.

* * *

_A young boy, holding each of my hands on his own, was staring lovingly into my eyes with his._

_A young boy, arms lying on the shoulder of his best friend, happily savoring a barbecue._

_A young man, bending down on one knee, and holding out a box containing the ring which he said symbolizes his connection with me._

_A man, holding my hand, journeyed with me to place where our lives would change forever._

_A man, sitting beside the bed where I lay, was looking at our son with awe, with as much love in his eyes as when he looks at me._

_A man, turning his head around, telling me that he'll be back in no time._

* * *

I lost track of time then. I didn't know how long I was sitting there. I was pulled out of my funk when I heard a crashing noise from the kitchen.

_Mark! _I thought.

I walked down the stairs, and as I descended, I felt the air thinning. My breaths were shortening. When I was halfway down the stairs, I heard the screaming.

"…what I said!" was the only thing I heard from his bellows.

I started dashing for the kitchen.

_Why does the kitchen have to be so far away? _I thought.

As I almost reached the kitchen door, I heard more of Mark's screaming.

"MOM! HELP! ANYBODY, PLEASE SA-" The first thing I saw when I entered was the refrigerator door hitting the back of his head.

Then I noticed that he was spinning. Then I noticed everything else in the room was spinning. Forks and knives were cutting into his skin. One grazed his cheek.

"MARK!" I screamed.

I was very baffled. I had no idea why this was happening. Then I noticed that something not unlike a rift was forming around him.

Then the wind entered the rift, taking him with it.

My legs lost all energy, which left me kneeling down, staring at the remains of the scene which just unravelled in front of me.

My son totally disappeared, leaving nothing of even the littlest trace. Save for the demolition in the kitchen. It looked like a tornado has passed through it. It was a perfect description for what just happened.

Tears started welling up in my eyes, but I blinked them away.

_Why did this happen?_ I thought.


	3. I Shake With a Demon

I forgot to add the disclaimer yet again...

Please read, review, and most importantly, enjoy.

Disclaimer: Soranium does not own Grand Chase and its cha*bricked*

Soranium: Hey! Who threw tha*bricked* OW!

Mark: Hehehe. *Juggles Brick*

Soranium: Ahah! So it's you, Mark. You are my first OC, and you betray me? *Wields character eraser, and takes a step closer*

Mark: Whoa! I'm not betraying you. I'm just trying to make this Author's note exci*bricked* OW! Who threw that?

Lire: Get back to the set, Mark! We're going to start.

Mark: Alright Lire! Just let me say the disclaimer for Sora first! *comes over to Soranium and whispers* How far are we from her?

Soranium: Hmm? About 93 feet. Why do you ask?

Mark: Wow! She's that far, and yet she hit me with a brick? She's a good shot.

Soranium: Well of course she is. She's an archer, you dunderhead. Now say the disclaimer.

Mark: Alright, alright. *whispers* Just because you're the author, you treat me like this.

Soranium: What was that? *Wields character eraser again*

Mark: *waves arms frantically in front of him as a defensive measure* Nothing! Nothing.

Soranium: Good. Now say the disclaimer.

Mark: Sure boss, whatever you say.

Disclaimer: Soranium does not own Grand Chase and its characters. He also does not own Band-Aid, or a magic wand which can heal his right leg fracture (where both the tibia and fibula was split) in an instant. He does, however, own a Character Eraser, which is his signature weapon, a crappy netbook, a 512kbps wireless modem, a facebook account and some imagination.

* * *

My head was still buzzing when they started to come into the tent.

The first of them was a short black haired guy, carrying a bizarre sword which seemed to be very heavy in a backhanded grip. He also had what looked like a spear on his back, but with a large thick blade which was sharp at the tip, but dull on the sides.

He just stood there, though. He wasn't even trying to talk to me, as though he was too lazy to.

He was wearing the same freako armor that Lire was wearing earlier, only that his was more like a guy's version, which is less revealing, and had a black color scheme, not green like Lire's. I tried to spark the conversation, but he was exuding an aura like 'Not now, punk. I'm pissed off,' so I backed off.

The next of them came in, not long after the black guy entered. He was wearing the same clothes, with a light blue color scheme. This boy had white hair and Light Blue eyes, which I found strange. But what was stranger was that I didn't actually see him come in. One moment there was nothing, and the next he was already there, like he just appeared from nothing. He was also not talking, so I continued to stare. They seemed unfazed by my gaze.

There seemed to be a tension between the two, as though the silver haired boy did something to set off the black haired guy, but the black haired guy was too disturbed by something else to do anything about it. I noticed his grip tightening on the sword and the boy's crossed arms became more rigid, 1 or 2 of his fingers in his sleeves. I pondered about what he could have been hiding, but I decided against it, deciding that I did not want to find out.

They just stood there for a bit, until the noises came. I heard different voices, though all of them were female. I could identify Lire's laughter in the midst of the noise.

Then they came in, and I discovered that the only people making the crazy noise were 2 girls: A red headed girl arguing with a violet haired girl.

Anyways, all of them were wearing the same themed outfits. So that I won't have to describe it again, well, the girls were wearing sleeveless blouses which only covered their, uhh, privates. It had golden linings and a white circle in the middle part.

Halfway in their upper arms were black bands with golden lining. They were also wearing skirts with a color scheme of white, gold, and their hair color, and reached just above the knees.

They also wore a belt which was black and had a circular golden belt buckle. The boys were wearing the same skirt, but had some kind of longer cloak draped on both their front and backs to cover the gap. They were wearing sleeveless shirts which covered them up to the belly button.

All of them were all wearing forehead protectors lined with cold and was the same color of their hair… Oh, excluding Lire and the white haired boy.

I noticed their hair was of a different color because I was already looking at the forehead protectors and easily noticed their hair wasn't consistent with it. Instead, it had the same hue as their eyes: Lire's green and the boy's light blue.

So, to continue, they were all wearing fingerless gloves which was white all over, but black on the area near the hole. They were also wearing armbands of the corresponding color with black in the middle, and it covered a good area of their gloves.

The shoes they were wearing seemed to be regular shoes, with the usual color scheme: their personal color, white and gold. The only difference was that it was overly decorated. The shoes had unnecessary bulges in the rim of its hole, which seemed to me like it only served as an annoyance.

Lastly, they were all wearing funny small cloaks, almost inconspicuous, but just big enough to notice.

My final verdict: they all looked absolutely ridiculous.

Anyway, back to the story.

So, the girls entered, the redhead and the violet mane was arguing, and yeah. So there were 5 girls who entered the tent at the same time.

Of course, there was Lire, wearing the same clothes as the ones she was wearing when she left. Again, the color scheme of her clothes was green. This time, though, an eccentrically large bow was slung by the string on her body, which seemed wood-carved.

_God, who still uses bows in this century? But then, I'm not in my world, so maybe they're still in medieval times?_ I thought.

She looked at me, waved hello, and continued to do what she was doing: keep looking out the door as though a storm might come.

_More of them's coming, then._ I thought.

Next up, the redhead, whom you could automatically identify as aggressive the moment you look at her. Her clothes were a lighter shade of red than her hair, a bit like peach pink, but not quite there.

She had what looked like a sword on a sheath tied to her belt roughly, as though it was done in a hurry.

She kept shouting back at the violet head, as though winning their argument was a life and death matter.

And then there was the cerulean haired girl. She was reading a book with intense concentration, and was making weird facial expressions which kind of made her look cute. She wasn't noticing me at all. Her eyes then caught my attention. They were of different hues: the left one was red while the other was as blue as her hair. What was that called again? Dichroma-thingy or Hetero-something? I don't remember.

Her clothes were of the same shade: cerulean.

Here I thought I couldn't see anything more bizarre, but I guess I can't get anything right. The next thing I saw was eye candy, at least.

She was heartily laughing at the redhead and the violet head argue. She had something like an overly decorated violin slung to her back. She was holding the bow (the one you use to play, not shoot) in her right hand. She had a loud, high pitched, rather irritating but cute voice.

She had skin as fair as Lire, but was a teensy bit shorter. She exuded an aura of confidence, as though she's saying 'Hey, I'm famous! Bow down before me!'

But what caught me the most was her pink hair. PINK hair, tied in ponytails and in princess curls. Her clothes were, of course, all pink too. She was so pink that it almost hurts the eye.

My first thought: _How long does it take her to prepare that in the morning?_

My next thought: _I guess her eyes are pink too, then._

How many times can I be wrong in a day? She slowly stopped laughing and when she did, she then opened her eyes. Lo and behold, she had hazel eyes, which in my opinion, really matched her hair.

_Wow, she's dazzling._ I thought. I then looked away, for she might have caught me staring.

Lastly, there was the violet haired girl, who had stopped arguing with the redhead to glance at me for a moment, then looked back at the redhead to continue arguing. Her clothes were as violet as her hair.

She was carrying a wooden rod in her right hand, which curled a bit at one end, and was quite sharp at the other.

On the other hand, well, actually the arm, she was carrying two small creatures.

The first one looked like a lady wearing a kimono, but it had very pale skin which almost looked violet, and a fox tail on its back.

The other was simple, but very odd. It was a ball of green slime. Seriously.

_How's that thing gripping her arm? _I thought.

Every one of them was doing a good job of ignoring me. I decided to catch their attention by attempting conversation.

"So, hey." I said. Each one of them turned their heads to me. The redhead and the violet head stop fighting. Even the cerulean girl looks up from her book, but looks back down right away as though she thought she was just heard things. "Err, Hi. My name is-"

"Wait!" The black haired guy cut me off, and looked at the door way. "AHA!" He exclaimed.

He pulled out the spear-like thingy from his back and said "Lire, get away from the doorway..."

Lire obediently moved away. The black haired guy pulled the weapon back, a bit above his shoulders. The next thing that happened was a shock to me: the weapon suddenly burst into flames. His facial expression also changed into that of a raging bull.

I just looked in amazement at how well he was holding the weapon, as though he has practiced using it for 600 years or so.

"RAGING FLAME BLASTER!"

* * *

**Raging Flame Blaster**

Sieghart spins his Spear forward and throws it. The Spear has an infinite range. However, it travels at a much higher velocity than the Regular Flame Blaster.

MP Cost: 3 Bars

Prerequisites: Warlord Status, Be Very Angry

* * *

He screamed as he threw the flaming spear out of the tent. It accidentally grazed the entrance, and it was set aflame, but it was extinguished by the wind caused by the spear itself. Then I heard the cracking and breaking of trees outside.

_Trees, so we really are in a forest. On the side note, whoever gets hit by that is in SOOO much trouble. _I thought.

* * *

"C'mon guys, this way!" I turned around as I told the guys.

"Aw c'mon dude. Chill. If you're so excited, why don't you go on ahead?" Jin replied

"Nah, I'm pacing with you guys. Besides, Lass should already be there." I answered.

I failed to find Lass, so I instead met up with the guys, who were already on their way to the tent, where the guy Dio and Arme found was being nursed.

"So then, bye Ronan." Said Dio, who suddenly changed direction, dragging Ryan with him.

"Yeah, I'm with him. Bye Ronan." Zero seconded, and followed Dio.

"What? Where in the world will you be going to?" I said as Jin also followed suit with them.

"Yah! Wher ah we goin tuh?" Ryan complained, before something caught his eye, something from behind me, and closed his eyes.

"Huh?" I said as I turned around, and what I saw made my legs gelatinize.

My last thoughts were: _If I live through this, I'm never calling Sieg old._

Then I blacked out. Wait, I think I screamed before I blacked out.

* * *

"UUWWWWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" A muffled scream was heard from a distance, and I had a hard time distinguishing if it was a boy or girl's voice.

"RO!" Another scream, this time clearly a boy's.

"Wait, did you just throw that burning spear to someone far away?" I voiced to the black haired guy.

"Well, yes." He answered as though nothing had happened. His face was back to normal.

It took me a few more seconds before I could answer back. "Y-y-you're a f-freak!"

The raven haired boy mock-pondered for a while, then said, "Hmm… I guess you're right. Only freaks live 624 and 1/2 years, right?"

I tried to answer, but no words came out of my mouth. _624 and ½ years? That's ridiculous!_

"Wow, so that's your exact age, grandpa? You never told us that." The redhead answered.

Loud footsteps could now be heard from outside. The one making them seemed to be running towards the tent. Their grips tightened on their weapons, the cerulean haired girl let go of the book and held a gun at the handle, in a holster I didn't notice earlier. The only one who didn't react was the silver-haired boy.

"Relax. It's just Ryan, carrying Ronan with him." He said.

Their faces remained strained, but their grips lightened. It meant that they trusted this boy's judgment, whoever he is.

A few seconds passed, and a tangerine haired boy carrying an injured boy with a dark blue mane entered.

"R-Ronan? What's happened?" Lire said

"He's unconscious, Lire." The orange haired boy answered.

The orange haired boy, who must be Ryan as the white haired boy said, was obviously an elf. This was because his ears were pointed, just like Lire's.

A battle axe, one with a blade on both sides, was strapped to his back.

The other boy, with the blue hair, must be Ronan. He looked a lot like a girl though. He must have been hit by the spear. He had a bad injury on his shoulder, which tore and burned his shirt. Then I realized the shirt had no creases: they had DENTS.

_These people are wearing ARMOR? _I thought.

"Ronan has a deep cut in his shoulder." He turned to the violet haired girl.

"Arme, can you do anything?" The boy who must have been Ryan asked her.

"Leave it to me." The girl I now know as Arme answered.

She handed the two creatures she was holding Ryan, who happily took them, even swaying them in his arms as though they were babies.

The rest of the group were silently watching the ordeal. The raven haired guy seemed to be suppressing a chuckle.

She raised her stick, the curved end pointed upward. She chanted something under her breath. Yet again, something amazing happened: the end of the stick started to glow, with a bluish light. She finished chanting and pointed it at Ronan's shoulder. "Heal." She said firmly.

* * *

**Heal**

A refined version of Cure. Drastically Increases Regeneration Rate of Target

MP Cost: 3 Bars

Prerequisites: Cure Lvl. 1, Boost Heal Lvl. 1, Athena's Sword, Battle Mage Certification

* * *

The stick glowed brighter, and the injury started to decrease in size, ultimately sealing up, leaving not even a scar as evidence that an injury was once there. The glow then slowly disappeared.

I just stared in awe at what I just witnessed. Well, I just witnessed magic, actual magic, not those rip-offs I used to see when I was a kid.

Arme wiped her forehead with the back of her free hand, then went over to a table and took a jug filled with water. She then went back to Ronan and poured it down on his face.

"Uwaah! What was that?" Ronan said, looking around for the source of the moisture which ruined his sleep. Then he spotted the black haired guy, and cringed in fear.

"Hah, so you lost consciousness earlier because of fear? Haha. You're such a wimp." He told Ronan.

"Why the hell did you even throw that, Sieghart?" Ronan asked angrily, but shakily.

Sieghart turned around before answering. "Because you called me old, princess."

Ronan was going to say something, but was cut off by some more people who entered the tent.

"Here you go, Sieg." A gray haired boy said as he tossed a spear to Sieghart.

Unlike the others, though, his eyes were covered with goggles that has green glass, so I didn't know his eye color. His clothes were schemed green. He had a really huge sword strapped to his back. The sword had an eye. I thought it was just an ornament, until it blinked at me. It sent chills upon my spine. _Brrr. That was disturbing._ I thought.

"Thanks, Zero." Sieghart said.

Two more guys entered. The first had his hands behind his head. His eyes and hair were both flaming red. He had a Band-Aid on his nose, and he was wearing a slightly different attire than the others. He was wearing a white, red and black hoodie, and black sweatpants with graphic flames. His hoodie is unzipped, which showed that he was wearing the same armor the others were wearing.

His hands were wrapped with something white, like a bandage.

"Hi Amy!" He greeted the pink haired girl, who I now know as Amy.

"Jin! You're here!" She said excitedly. She then started to glomp the redhead, who I now know as Jin.

The last one to enter was a boy with purple hair. He also had purple eyes. He was wearing the same armor as everyone, but his had fur linings. He was shaking his right hand as though it was in pain. He was also grimacing.

"You didn't have to bite me, Ryan. You could have just said 'let me go' or something." He complained to Ryan.

"Sorry, Dio. It was an instinctive action. Won't happen again." Ryan answered to the boy I now know as Dio.

He then noticed me, and quickly went over to the bed I was sitting on. He extended his left arm to me, then I noticed it was different.

_Th-this is… A demon's hand. _I thought, as panic started to spread through me like wildfire.

"Hey there. The name's Dio. I'm the one who found you in the battlefield. You suddenly appeared while Arme, Elesis" he pointed to the redheaded girl, "and I were fighting the ice basilisk." He said.

He then looked down, and noticed he was extending the wrong hand. He quickly switched to his right hand.

"Oh, whoops." He didn't smile, though his facial expression showed sheepishness.

I considered it for a while before taking his right hand into mine and shaking.

"Anyway, all of these people here, well, the 12 of us are collectively called the Grand Chase." He then lets go of my hand.

_I just shook hands with a demon. How crazy can this day get? _I thought.

* * *

Author's note:

So then, did you get which armor set I was describing?

Oh, and I still don't know which pairings to ship, but I want them to be VERY unique.

Give suggestions in your reviews! (If anybody will ever read this fic...)

More to come! I will update more or less weekly, so watch out for it. But I will NEVER have a constant schedule, so just watch out for chapters, for they may come anytime.

EDIT: Added Skill Descriptions


	4. I Fall Flat on My Butt

Soranium: GUWAAAHHH! Gosh, I'm so sorry for not updating early. I was procrastinating.

Mark: Aww, don't get down on yourself. You had to make a Java program, you know. And that wasn't child's play.

Soranium: I'm not even done with that yet!

Mark: And you couldn't post it yesterday because of some problem with logging in, so don't get yourself down for it.

Soranium: Well I finished it Saturday, and I just put off updating my Story!

Mark: C'mon Sora. Don't be so upset. It wasn't your fault.

Soranium: Yes it was.

Mark: Stop disagreeing with me!

Soranium: I will if you say the Disclaimer.

Mark: Alright, alright. If that will cheer you up.

Soranium: Thanks.

Disclaimer: Soranium does not own Grand Chase, it's characters and the places. Soranium does not own Asia. Soranium does not own the character catchphrases. Soranium does however own a knife which he is currently using to slash his wris-HEY! *grabs knife and keeps it away from Soranium*

Soranium: What?

Mark: Don't kill yourself! If you kill yourself, you can't write anymore!

Soranium: Oh. Okay.

Mark: I'm sorry for his behavior. He's just frustrated today.

soranium21: Frustrated? Mark, I'm a failure!

Mark: No you're not.

Soranium: Yes I am. Just look at that horrible fight scene between Arme and Elesis. I am NOT contented with that. I rewrote this chapter like 10 times, and I'm still NOT contented about it. I feel like a failure thinking that I wrote THAT.

Mark: Will making it better cheer you up?

Soranium: Yes. Yes it will.

Mark: Ugh. I'll say it for you. While Soranium works on rewriting the argument scene, please Read, Review, and most importantly, enjoy this chapter!

* * *

Dio took a step back. I just noticed that he had bluish skin, unlike the others; everyone else's skin was fair. I was too distracted by the hand, I guess.

I urged myself to talk, yet nothing formed in my mouth.

The black haired guy seemed to have noticed this, so he stepped forward and introduced himself.

"Guys, we haven't formally introduced ourselves yet. I'll go first," he looked at me."

Hey there, the name's Sieghart. You can call me Sieg." He said.

The silver-haired boy went next. "I'm Lass." He said simply.

Then the pink-haired girl approached.

"Hi! The name's Amelia, but everybody calls me Amy." She said, with a gentle smile on her face.

"My name is Jin. It would be best to remember it," said the red haired dude, as he slowly walked over beside Amy.

"Yo! Ahm Ryan. Ya call me Ryan, k?" The orange clad elf said.

"I don't need to introduce myself again, do I? Anyway, Ryan here's my cousin." Lire added.

"Oh wait, let's not forget about Kumi and Jell-O! This is Kumi," Ryan said pointing to the tiny foxgirl in his arms, "And this is Jell-O," he said, this time pointing at the lump of gelatinous green mass that I still couldn't believe was a living thing.

"Hey, I'm Arme. Nice to see you're well." The violet haired girl greeted.

"Mari," the mismatched-eyes girl said, without even moving from her spot, or even looking up for that matter.

"No need to be rude, Mari," the recently unconscious blue haired guy glared at Mari, yet she was oblivious to it.

"Hey, the name's Ronan. Call me Ro if you want to," he continued.

"I don't know my name, but people call me Zero." The boy with goggles said.

"And I'm Elesis! I'm the leader of this group of vagabonds called the Grand Chase," the read headed girl said, which makes all twelve of them.

"Who are you calling a vagabond, you berserker?" Arme commented, particularly on Elesis' statement.

"Oh yeah, we're a group of 11 vagabonds and 1 total noob." Elesis retorted.

"Well, you don't match me!" Arme taunted.

Elesis lost her temper. Luckily, they were a good distance away from me.

"Oh yeah? Well, have a taste of this! MAGNUM BREAK!" Elesis screamed as she unleashed a fury of slashes.

* * *

**Magnum Break**

An excessive ability that uses multiple, quickly, deadly slashes.

MP Cost: 2 Bars

Prerequisites: Cash Skill Lvl. 2, Swordsmanship

"FREEZING SPEAR!" Arme countered. Large pointy blocks of ice popped out of the ground.

* * *

**Freezing Spear**

Summons a large spiky wave of ice, literally dealing heavy damage while lifting the enemy into the air.

MP Cost: 2 Bars

Prerequisites: White Battle Magic Mastery, Battle Mage Certification

* * *

The ice was enough to stop Elesis' assault, though what was left of the ice after it was what you'd call 'shavings.'

_Are these people crazy?_ I thought.

"Stop this!" Jin chimed in.

He took a stance, then extended his hands to the area between Elesis and Arme.

"Ba Gua Pentagram!"

* * *

**Ba Gua Pentagram**

A revised version of Ba Gua Trigram. Instead of putting up a defence for himself, he instead creates a barrier which divides two areas, designated by his hands.

Basic Skill

Prerequisites: Enlightenment, Advanced Deva Stance

* * *

After this, I couldn't resist the urge to talk.

"Does this happen a lot?" I asked.

"Hmm? This happens about twice a day at least." Sieghart replied.

Elesis banged the barrier Jin had created with her sword.

"What? Twice a day?" I asked, an incredulous and unbelieving look surely painted on my face.

Arme seemed to regain composure. "Hey, let's take it easy." She said. She extended a hand for a shake.

"Yeah. At one time, they fought for like 10 and a half hours, and in the end, both of them were down from exhaustion." Ronan answered this time, still looking at Arme and Elesis.

I just left my mouth wide open in shock.

"We had tah spoonfeed teh pair 'fter that. They wur too tired ta even eat."

At this point, Jin released his barrier.

"Heh. Is that all you got?" Elesis said, sheathing her sword and crossing her arms.

"I was just holding back." Arme replied, lowering her hand.

"I wasn't even doing anything." Elesis countered as she turned around and walked out of the tent.

"Don't come crying to me later…" Arme said in a hushed voice as Elesis' shadow left the doorway.

"So anyway, what's your name? You haven't introduced yourself yet." Arme asked.

It took me about a minute before realizing that she was talking to me.

"I-I'm hungry." I blurted out. Then I slapped my forehead in frustration.

_Whoops, that's a stupid slip-up. _I thought.

"What? Your name's Hungry? What kind of parents would name their child Hungry?"

"I-I mean," was all I got out, before Lire took the initiative to talk for me.

"His name is Mark. And I think he really is hungry. I mean, 2 days with no food is painstaking. We're not strangers to that. Remember? Xenia? 3 months ago?." Lire said.

"You can't really expect to find food anywhere near Shrine of Entropy," Dio added.

"No meat either. All you could find there were automatons and dust." Sieghart pointed out.

"Luckily, Mari was there. And she had food! What I don't know was how she packed a whole picnic in her small pack." Amy wondered.

Mari put down her book with the pages facing the floor, so that the wind doesn't disturb it. Then she reached into her pack for something, then held it out.

It was a small ball, white on the bottom and red on top. It also had a button in the middle.

"It's a Compacter. It compresses anything you put in it to 1000 times its original size. When you press the button, everything inside is decompressed unharmed," Mari stated matter-of-factly.

She then quickly put it back in her pack before proceeding to read her book.

_So this world has magic and high tech too? But they still use medieval weapons? Weird. _I thought.

"Ah. Good times." Jin said as he looked down, obviously reminiscing their past.

"Yeah, good times. All this reminiscing is making me hungry too. You say you're hungry, Mark? We'd have to wait a bit more, though…" Ronan said.

"I'm not really that hungry-" I said, but I was cut off by my stomach's growling.

"You're not hungry, huh? Well, it is nearly time for dinner. Maybe we should get cooking?" Lass suggested.

"Nah, I'm sure Elesis is already cooking. I mean, all we have is Basilisk meat," Arme said.

"Yeah, and when it's meat, nobody's better in cooking it than Elesis," Lire agreed.

"Except me," Sieghart objected.

The whole lot of them laughed at that remark, save Mari.

I joined the laughing, so I could at least feel like part of the group.

_They still act like I'm not here… _I thought.

* * *

I lowered the hammer on the Basilisk Tail with skull crushing force, yet it still wasn't enough to even crack the tough hide.

"Gah! Stupid basilisk scales. Stupid Arme!" I complained at nobody in particular.

As I complained, I unconsciously slammed the hammer at the tail and shattering it into a gazillion pieces.

"Oh. There we go. Now, where's the knife?" I murmured to myself.

As I looked around for the knife, I heard a thud from a nearby tree. My reflex, naturally, was to turn to the source. What I found was a knife stuck 2 inches deep in a tree.

Lass' knife, no less. What gave it away? Well, it was double sided, and had a finger hole in the handle part.

"So, you here to help me cook?" I asked nonchalantly as I walked to the knife.

"Nah. I just knew you had no knife to cook with." He answered from the direction opposite the tree.

I turned around to look at him and found him with his back against a tree.

"How do you know that? Are you stalking me?" I asked again, this time jokingly.

"Me? Stalk you? Heh, never gonna happen. It's just that I cooked lunch, and I broke the knife, and I knew for certain you would be cooking now." Lass answered.

I walked back to the meat laid on a tree stump I personally cut down.

"Yeah? Thanks, then. If you aren't gonna help then you can go." I told him, trying to hide the fact that I wanted to be alone.

"Alright then. Just don't break the knife, Elesis." He warned as he walked away.

"Whatever." I replied.

I started to remove the broken skin by using the knife as a wedge. This wasn't nearly as laborious as breaking the skin, since the insides were quite soft.

And the best about dragon meat is that it has no fat! Er, did I just say that? Auu…

Anyway, when I was done taking the last piece of skin off, All I had left was the meat.

So I started to cut up the meat into steak sized pieces.

As I did this, I slowly forgot all about the previous event as I relaxed.

I would never think to speak of it in living daylight, but cooking helps me relieve stress.

Once I've finished slicing the meat, I stabbed the knife into the wood, discarded the scales, and moved on to chop the living daylights out of the tree I chopped down, to be used as firewood.

I went over to the spot where I left my stuff. I took my sword from the sheath and walked over to the tree I cut down earlier.

"I'm sure glad Ryan isn't here," I said as I separated the trunk from the branches of the tree with one slash.

"Alright, then. Here we go!"

I raised my sword, but instead of letting it down, I made a circular motion with the sword from behind and slashed it twice, with the second one sending it flying.

"Circle Blade!"

* * *

**Circle Blade**

Slashes once sidewards, yet the force in the slash does not simply make one cut, but many depending on the size of the target. This is followed up by an upward slash which knocks up the target.

MP Cost: 1 Bar

Prerequisites: Cash Skill Lvl 1, Swordsmanship, Improved Concentration Lvl. 2

* * *

I didn't even need to look up. The pieces of wood came down one by one.

"Hmm, maybe I over did it…" I pondered as I started to collect firewood.

While I was picking up a piece of wood, one chunk hit me in the head.

"Ow! Who threw that?" I yelled.

Since there was no response, I decided to look up. I saw that some chunks of the wood were above me, caught by the tree branches.

"Oh. So it got caught by the branches and fell on me. Haha, silly me," I said, fake punching my head with my right arm with my tongue out.

Again, never plan on even thinking about doing that in public.

Anyway, I deemed my firewood as 'enough' and laid down to wood near the stump of the tree I cut down, where the Basilisk meat was laid.

I then went back to where my other stuff was, sheathed the sword, and lifted the metal grill Mari made to make cooking easier.

_With this, all you have to do is support the corners, start a light blaze below, and place the meat above. _Her instructions rang in my head.

When I reached the tree stump, I placed the grill flat on the ground and transferred the meat on it. Then, with the knife, I started making a hollow in the middle of the stump. It was one hell of a tree to cut down, considering how thick it was. Ryan would have killed me if he saw what I did to it.

"Ow!" I complained as I accidentally cut my pinkie while hollowing the stump. I then contemplated on getting my sword, but I was too lazy to walk and go get it. So I stuck with the knife.

After about 5 minutes, I was done cutting a rough circle. I used the knife as a wedge to get the unneeded wood off, and it popped out. I threw it back. I then put the firewood I collected into the hollow and started a blaze by scratching two rocks together waking a spark to ignite the wood. When I was done with that, I placed the grill on top of it and just sat there to wait.

As I looked at the bright sparks, I began to think about my lifestyle. _Why do I keep up a tough act? Oh, that's right. I am a leader. If I act weak, people will disrespect us.I will not be pushed around again. Never again… _I thought. I shook my head to banish the memories of my childhood. I decided to focus on observing if it was already time to flip the meat.

I unconsciously started humming.

" Hmm hmm na na na hmm hmm… "

* * *

After their laughing spree, Zero suggested they get outside for some fresh air.

Everybody already went outside except Jin.

"You should probably come with us. Need a hand?" Jin volunteered.

"Nah, I'm good," I replied, as I tried to stand up. When I got up, I realized that I was still woozy; I lost balance and fell forward. Luckily, Jin was still there to catch me.

"Haha. Thanks, dude I guess I'm not good yet," I thanked him.

"No problem." He helped me stand up straight.

I then took a few steps with my arm slung on his shoulder. I then let go.

"Are you sure you don't need my help?" He inquired.

"Nah. I can handle myself now. I just needed to rebalance myself or something," I answered, now walking side by side with him.

When I stepped out of the tent, everything was to bright, so I had to cover my eyes with my hand while it gets used to the brightness.

When I decided that my eyes don't hurt anymore, I relaxed my arms and was greeted by the most trees I have ever seen in a group in my entire life.

_Wow. I knew forests are supposed to have a lot of trees, but this… This is beautiful! _I thought.

I looked around and noticed that we were in a grassy clearing inside the forest.

The group was just relaxing, though I'm not sure if that's the right word.

Lass, Zero, Dio and Sieghart was now engaged in a 4-way sparring battle, which I am too lazy to describe. Why? Because it was pure awesome.

Arme, Amy and Lire were sitting on the grass, chatting to each other, giving off an occasional giggle.

Elesis was not here. Maybe as Lass had said, she went off to cook.

I didn't see Mari anywhere either.

Ryan and Ronan were busy gathering the bags, which I noticed was outside the tent I came out from.

I leaned a bit toward Jin to ask a question.

"So Jin, is this what they meant by get some fresh air?" I asked.

"Yes it is. That's their idea of fresh air," Jin responded.

Just then, Lass jumped away from the battle field and toward us. I took two steps backward and fell on my butt for losing balance.

"I'm sorry, Mark. I forgot you weren't used to this. Anyway, Jin, please fill in for me while I go check on Elesis," Lass said.

I stood up. "It's alright. Where's Elesis anyway?" I said, while dusting the sleeves of my plain white shirt.

"She's most likely somewhere in the forest. She likes to be alone when cooking. I need to go there, because she has no knife, and she might go berserk and cut down the whole forest. So Jin, fill in for me? Your teammate will be Zero." Lass stated.

"Gladly," Jin answered with a grin, as he bumped his knuckles together.

Without another word, Jin went charging towards Sieghart and the other three to continue their heated battle, while Lass disappeared into the forest in a matter of seconds. Wait, I forgot to say that the edge of the clearing was about 400 feet away.

Anyway, since I had nobody to talk to, I approached Ronan and Ryan, who were just finishing to lift all the bags.

"Hey guys. What are those bags for?" I inquired.

"Well, we wur s'posed ta be leavin fa town taday, but 'tis gettin late, if I migh say so maself," Ryan answered.

"To town? Why would we leave for town?" I asked again.

"Well, one reason is that we're low on supplies. The other reason is that we have to drop you off. I mean, you can't tag along with us. We're the Grand Chase. You'd just get in trouble," Ronan explained.

Now I regretted not explaining my circumstances first. Maybe Lire should have informed them already, but maybe it passed her mind. Guess she had one of those "blonde moments" my friends talk about.

"Guys, you can't just drop me off at some city. I have to get back home," I answered, now with a worried look on my face. This seems to have alarmed Ronan.

"Why not? Maybe we could take you home, then." Ronan inquired.

"That's the problem. You see, earlier, me and Lire were talking. As we got deep into the conversation, we noticed differences on what we know. What we believe. We came upon a conclusion…" I explained, though I couldn't get the words out.

_Why am I afraid? II know for certain that it's the case, but why can't I admit it to myself? _I beat myself up on the inside for it.

"Whut? Whut did teh pair of ya find out?" Ryan asked, impatience clear from his tone.

"We think I come from another world," I answered.

A few seconds of awkward silence ensued before Ronan dropped the bags he was carrying. He didn't even bother to pick them up.

"What? What do you mean another world? How absurd!" Ronan exclaimed.

"Yeah, tha's jus crazy talk. How in the name of Zen could tha hap'n?" Ryan seconded.

"Well, since you're so firm in not believing me, have either of you gentlemen heard of Asia? That's where I live," I answered.

* * *

So, who can figure out which are the original character phrases in the dialog? Oh, and a bonus cookie to the one who gets the misplaced one. (HINT: It's supposed to be Jin's phrase...)

Please leave a review on how you find the story so far, and how you think it should flow.

Oh, and don't be mad at me for making Lire and Ryan cousins. Seriously, I don't like how authors use this pairing. Just because they're both elves doesn't mean they're cut out to be for each other.

Peace Out!

p.s. I've noticed that as the chapter number grows, the scroll bar gets smaller... So I've decided that I will try to keep my chapters between 2k-3k words...  
I don't want to tire you from reading. But I'm bad at keeping promises, so I wont promise anything... For all I know, I might write a chapter with 10k words if I feel I'm up to the dumb task.

* * *

April 17, 2011

Today, I was supposed to post the 5th chapter. But due to an unlucky twist of fate, and an untimely blackout, my flash drive got fried, and now I have to completely rewrite Chapters 5, 6 and 7 (yes, I write advance chapters.) I am very sorry to say that there will be a lapse in my update scheme. I will do my best to rewrite 5 again today, and hopefully post it not later than tomorrow. Again, I am sorry for the inconvenience. I do hope that writing the 5th chapter again will be easy since I am the one who wrote it in the first place. I will also submit this message as a review for those who actually read reviews.


	5. I Smell Burnt Meat

Soranium: Might as well get on with it, this chapter is late **and **short.

Disclaimer: Soranium does not own Grand Chase. To make up for this, Soranium instead tries to own **in** Grand Chase.

Mark: *whispers* Sadly, he's the one who's getting owned.

Soranium: You do realize I heard that, right? *snaps whip*

Mark: W-w-wait Sora! I d-didn't mean it!

Soranium: That's what you said yesterday!

Mark: I'm sorry!

Soranium: It's too late for apologies!

Mark: OW! Uaahhh!

Soranium: That should teach you a lesson. *turns head to reader and smiles* Please enjoy this brief chapter of Time and Fate!

* * *

I was sure we were more than 200 meters apart, but I was still able to hear it.

"…come from another world," was all I heard from what Mark said because of the loud racket we were making from the sparring session.

And when I say racket, I mean explosions, weapon clashing, exaggerated shouts, etc.

But that phrase alone was enough to catch my attention. But it did not distract my Jin, Zero and Sieghart. Jin managed to land a hit on me. Taking advantage of the moment, he quickly used a power move.

"Destroyer of Heaven!" He exclaimed as he punched me with light speed for what seemed like only once and then rushed behind me, but I was proven wrong when I felt my body getting pummelled all over a second later.

* * *

**Destroyer of Heaven**

Charges at enemy with blinding speed and cuts the enemy once with the Vajra, in the process leaving behind a ball of chi which explodes and disables the enemy the next second.

MP Cost: 2 Bars

Prerequisites: Enlightenment, Crimson Fist Lvl. 2

* * *

"I yield," I murmured as my teammate growled in confusion and disappointment.

"What? You can't seriously be giving up! I was just starting to stretch some muscle. You know how rare that happens?" Sieghart complained angrily.

"Yeah, I haven't even started yet!" Jin seconded.

"I don't think Dio is even listening to you two," Zero answered as he strapped his sword to his back.

Zero was right; I was too distracted observing Mark talk with Ryan and Ronan from afar. I didn't even notice that I was unconsciously walking my way there as my thoughts shifted into the possibilities.

_Could this be it? Is there hope?_

* * *

Everybody else seemed to have noticed our little talk because all of them were now looking at us, including Lass who just jumped out of the forest at that moment.

_These people have good ears, _I thought.

Then I noticed they were either looking at Ronan or at the boxes he dropped. Even the 2 on 2 sparring session has come to a grinding halt. Gauging their reactions, I figured that this Ronan person did not lose his cool a lot. Which means what I just said really was unbelievable to him.

_But why did Lire not only believe me, but she suggested the theory as well? _I pondered.

A deadly silence has filed the clearing. I decided to break the silence, but Ryan beat me to it.

"Aisha? Ain't that teh name o' Arme's sla-ah mean 'prentice?" He asked.

I noticed Arme's grip on her, uh, stick tighten. _Oooohh. Someone's gonna get it later._

I was about to reply, but I was again cut off, this time by Ronan.

"No, Ryan. I think he means he claims to hail from this… place… he calls Asia. Are you absolutely sure about this, Mark? I mean, you look too… human. People from other worlds usually look different, like Dio for example." Ronan reinquired, though it sounded like he was asking himself, not me.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's what the place is called. I don't have amnesia, and I'm sure as hell that I'm not bipolar either." I answered. "So, what were you saying about Dio again?"

* * *

_Is this guy for real? _I asked in my mind, yet I did not ask it out loud, for I knew it was not polite to do so.

I took in his appearance.

He had dark black hair with subtle hints of auburn. He had dull black eyes above deep eye bags. He was wearing white shirt tucked into black pants and a black belt. He was slightly taller than me, and he had that curious, absorbent look in his eyes, the eyes of an adventurer who has stepped into uncharted lands.

But there was something else in his eyes. There was fear. _But what was he scared of?_ I thought.

I was dragged back into reality by his voice.

"Hey, dude… err, Ronan. What were you saying about Dio again?" Mark asked.

* * *

"Arme, how does that Mark guy know Aisha?" Amy asked as she looked past me to Arme.

Arme didn't answer, but she was just as dumbfounded as Amy was. I, however, was sure that Arme has already performed some improved hearing spell to listen in.

* * *

**Focus**

This skill, when cast, allows the user to improve one of the five senses. This skill does not stack with itself.

MP Cost: None – Buff Type

Prerequisites: Wind Spirit Contract Lvl. 3, Lamp's Approval

* * *

I was able to hear everything they were saying, though, even without the assistance of magic.

It was an inborn skill, a gift of nature per say that only elves have.

* * *

**Awakened Senses**

Elves are given improved senses upon birth which the race claimed to be a blessing from Gaia, the goddess of the earth.

Passive Skill

Prerequisites: Gaia's Blessing, Improved Body Architecture Lvl. 2

* * *

"Oh Ryan, you are so going to pay…" Arme murmured from the side.

"What was that, Arme?" Amy asked Arme again, her non-acute hearing preventing her from hearing what Arme had said.

"Oh, I said 'Oh no, Mark is crazy.'" Arme replied. It wasn't too convincing; it didn't even rhyme, but Amy just nodded.

"Why do you say so, Arme?" I asked her. I was talking with Mark earlier, and he wasn't crazy. Or at least he appeared to be.

"Well, he claims to come from another world." Arme answered. "He looks too normal for that, though."

"But I talked to him earlier. I think I was even the one that suggested that to be the case." I said, now feeling silly that I didn't just tell them that simple fact earlier.

"You did? But how can you be sure?" Arme asked me, now with a disbelieving face.

"Because it was true. I can read minds, Arme. I looked into his thoughts while we were talking and he did not even consider the possibility of elves' existence. He was quite shocked when he saw me. There's no way he could come from this world. Also, look at what he's wearing. Would anybody in the right mind wear absolutely no armor in these chaotic times?" I answered her with rhetoric.

"Hmm. I guess not. But that still doesn't explain why he wound up here."

"I bet even he doesn't know the answer to that himself."

* * *

I almost jumped when I felt Dio's hand touch my shoulder. He also jumped, in his own way.

"Ugh. Again with the hand! I just keep forgetting." He accidentally used his large and sinister looking dark hand to touch my shoulder. Speaking of my shoulder, the hand left a graze on the shirt's fabric where his hand touched.

"Sorry about that." He then rubbed his forehead. With his right hand this time, of course. "Anyway, Ro here decided to point me out since obviously, I come from another world."

My eyes probably widened from his statement, because all he did was shrug.

"Explains the hand, doesn't it? That's what Ronan meant when he thought that you looked too human to come from another world." He said, looking at Ronan with no obvious emotion, but the simple statement was tainted with disgust.

"What?" Ronan asked, losing his cool once again.

"You are too judgmental. You really think that only this world and the underworld are present in this universe?" Dio spat.

"As a matter of fact, I did. Why are you so upset about these other worlds?" Ronan retorted, now obviously irritated by the sudden turn of events.

"Wha' bout me?" Ryan interjected, obviously trying to relieve the tension between the two.

Both of them turned to look at Ryan. "Shut It!" Ryan visibly flinched.

"And you!" Dio turned to glare at Ronan. Ronan returned the favor. I took a wide step back, not doubting that the space where their gazes were locked might burst to flames in a second. "All the evidence is in front of you, and yet you still can't believe him!" Dio pointed at me.

"What about him? What evidence? Show me, then!" Ronan answered, just as angry.

"He's evidence number 1. Evidence number 2, use Blast Bomb now!" Dio ordered.

"Why should I?"

"Because I said so!"

Ronan sighed. "If it'll make you happy, then alright." He seemed to regain his composure. He drew a sword from his waist. This sword was different from the one Elesis was using earlier. It had weird etchings on the side, and also on the scabbard. He raised the sword in an angle, towards an unoccupied area in the clearing.

Ryan's eyes widened. "No, wait!" But he was too late.

"Blast Bomb!"

* * *

**Blast Bomb**

The user concentrates energy in a wide area in front of him to summon a burning boulder that explodes upon contact to the ground and leaves flames that automatically extinguishes itself after a few seconds.

MP Cost: 2 Bars

Prerequisites: White Sword Magic Mastery

* * *

Out of nowhere, a large red glowing rock appeared and crashed onto the ground. It exploded, and reminded me of a Molotov, only this one was really very big. And it was a rock. That's a big difference from the usual Molotov. The explosion caused a moderately wide area to burn.

_Poor grass… _I thought.

Ryan must have had the same thoughts as me, though his reaction was more extreme. He fell to his knees, faced the ground, and started murmuring something. The only words I could actually understand was 'avenge' and 'forgive'… And those two words were pretty much antonyms.

Ronan ignored this display and turned to Dio.

"I now see what you mean. Your theory is that the boulder comes from another world. I can understand that. But what I can't understand is why you were so mad at me earlier for not believing Mark." Ronan said with a calm intonation. Dio seemed to have thought about that. Just by making Ronan do that, he achieved 2 things.

It effectively calmed Ronan, since it served as a stress relief exercise; and he proved his point, because the rock came from another dimension.

"She knew." Then the flames died out.

I didn't even notice them all approach, but now, as I looked around, everyone in the clearing had gathered near us. Jin patted Dio's back but he shook the hand away. He then proceeded to stalk off.

Nobody followed. The looks they were giving Dio as he walked into the forest touched me. Their eyes were full of care. They were his friends. For a moment, I wished I was Dio. I wished I had friends. I wish somebody cared about me in that way.

They all stood like that for a while. I then smelled something like burnt meat, and my head twisted towards the source.

A figure emerged from the woods. It was Elesis. She was carrying a really large plate with really large pieces of meat stacked really high I was scared it would topple over, but the girl obviously had good balance, judging from her posture. Also, she was holding the plate with two hands, which added to my relief.

She looked at her friends and raised an eyebrow. Finally, she broke the silence.

"Hey! Did I miss something?" She asked in a very loud voice.

"No, nothing exciting happened." Lass answered.

She then looked down. She entered the woods from the side where the Blast Bomb was aimed, so she saw the ashes of the burnt grass.

"Yeah, like I'll believe you. By the way, here's your knife." Holding the food with her right hand, she reached into her pocket and quickly lobbed it at Lass' direction. Just when I thought it was going to hit him square in the head, he caught it.

"You're welcome." Lass said.

"Right. Ryan, help me bring this plate over to the tree stump. Amy, let's gather the plates and forks. Everyone else, gather around the table; we'll eat dinner in a few moments," bellowed Elesis. "What are you waiting for, heavenly bells? Get a move on!"

Ryan went over and took the platter of meat from Elesis. She then walked back to the woods, this time to a different direction, and Amy hurriedly followed her.

The rest shuffled towards the tree stump in the middle of the clearing where Ryan laid down the food. I followed suit.

The boxes and bags Ronan dropped earlier laid on the soft Bermuda grass, long forgotten.

* * *

As you've probably noticed, this is a short chapter, even for my standards.

But I felt that it was a good moment to stop, so I did.

Anyway, before you go off and complain about the interactions...

Mark didn't push the conversation about _other worlds _too far because even Mark himself is not certain about the facts yet. All he knows is that he's been misplaced. The reason that he hasn't reacted about it too much and seems to _accept _the fact that he's in another world is because he has yet to realize the implications. He hasn't really been given the time to think about his situation. But I'll fix that in the next chapter. (Actually, my first version of chapter 5 reached up to that point. Stupid blackout.)

Dio's reaction to this will also be explained later on.

Now, I have an inquiry.

What would you like to see more of?

Character development? Relationships? Conflict? Mental Issues? Something else?

Give a hoot in your review. Me needs ideas. A story has only 1 beginning and 1 end, but it sure has a butt load of middle. And I'm the kind of writer that wings it, but has a goal. Kind of like Super Mario. You always have to travel from point A to point B, but it's freestyle how you get there.

Give me a good plot point, and I'll give you proper recognition when I finally use it!

Next note, I won't hate you for pointing out grammar/continuity/Character Interaction errors. I'll love you for those kinds of reviews. Just try not to flame, kay. Or you'll get a special spot in my Author's notes as "**_TROLL OF THE WEEK!_**" Yes, Bold, Italicized, and Underlined.

One last thing. I absolutely **hate **holly wood endings. I will not regret killing off a character.

Please leave a review before you leave... It's inspiring when people take the time to do that, even if it's a simple 'Nice', or a really long and detailed critique (though I'd prefer it if you PM these to me)

Good Day/Night!


	6. I Burp Out Loud

Soranium: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA!

Disclaimer: Soranium *snicker* does not *snort* own Grand *hic* Chase. Sor-

Mark: What the hell? Stop! I'll do it for you.

Soranium: NO! Kyahhaahahahahh! I'll do - HAHA - it.

Mark: What in the world is so funny anyway?

Soranium: You wanna know what's funny?

Mark: What? Hey! You're not laughing anymore.

Soranium: Yes, I'm not. Anyway, what's funny is that I uploaded this chapter last Monday, but I forgot to add it to the story! HAHA! I even added the Author's note already! I had to edit it though. It was just too stupid that not informing people who read this would be a waste.

Mark: Ahh. OK. Say the disclaimer then.

Soranium: Don't you DARE boss me around. I'm the author around here... Or do you need to be reminded? *grins evilly*

Mark: No No NO NONON ONONONO noNOn !

Soranium: *presses big red button labeled 'do not push!' on remote control that appeared from nowhere*

*platform below Mark opens up to reveal bottomless abyss*

Mark: **!**

Soranium: MUWAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHA!

Disclaimer: Soranium does not own Grand Chase, it's characters, monsters, places, events, etc. Soranium does not own an awesome cellphone either. However, Soranium owns a brain. Sadly, Soranium gave this brain to Mark, for the sole enjoyment of the readers. SO YOU BETTER READ!

* * *

Apparently, these people I wounded up with took food seriously. They acted eerily similar to a band of soldiers. Save the inaudible chatter between Amy and, well, Amy. How that's possible, I don't know. Everyone else was tense, though, as if someone would catch them off guard and shoot their head off while eating. Deciding that it was a bad time to bug them about my needs, I just focused on the food.

The meat was surprisingly delicious. Even more delicious than pork, no, than anything I've tasted before.

The burn marks on its surface imply that it was grilled, which in my opinion is the best way to cook meat. This gave the meat the characteristic black burns which made it a carcinogenic wonder. The meat itself gave a mouth-watering sensation, and tasted like a cross between pork, jalapeño and lemon grass.

It was an explosion of flavour inside my mouth - period.

Delicious food aside, I noticed there were 2 unused plates on the tree-stump-turned-dining-table. Then I realized that Dio still wasn't back from his little walk, and I haven't seen Mari since the tent meeting. But, since nobody was complaining, I dismissed it as commonplace, and continued eating.

I hadn't realized it, but I was halfway through my fifth serving when I started feeling satisfied. I contemplated stopping, but the food was too delicious to waste. The very next moment, there was a big chunk of meat in my mouth, and there was an empty plate sitting in my lap.

After I swallowed the last bit and licked my lips, I couldn't resist the temptation to talk. "Wow, this is the most fantastic meal I've ever had. What's it from?" I asked, with my mouth wide open. Then my saliva threatened to overflow, so I had to close it up.

"You think this is delicious? You should try gorgon meat, er… I just realized I don't know your name," Elesis replied.

"I'm Mark," I supplied.

"Mmmhmm. So, what's your specialty? Are you a mage? A swordsman? Anything?" she asked.

"Well, no actually. I'm not well versed to weaponry. I'm more of a civilian," I shrugged.

"Really? Then you can't stay with us," she answered bluntly.

"Wait, what? Why?" I asked again.

"You can't defend yourself. You'll be dead weight to our group if you stay," Elesis answered.

_Why do I need to defend myself to… Oh, right. I'm in another world. So that's why they all carry weapons, _I thought. _But I don't want to leave. I'm not familiar with this place. Heck, I only knew this place existed when I woke up earlier. I also don't have family here, not like I had a functional family back home, but still. And if something tastes better than what I just ate, then at least I have to try that first. But how do I convince them to lug me along?_

"But you can't just leave me anywhere," I rebelled.

"Hmm? Why not?" She asked.

I couldn't think of a good reason either, but I thought for a second and figured that I can manipulate this situation, so I said "because I'm not from around here. And since you guys seem to be the reason I ended up here, then you should take responsibility."

_Perfect, now she'll say… _"Then we'll take you home." _Bingo. Here goes step 2._

"Is that a promise? And I can stay with you guys until then?" I asked meekly, plastering a hopeful smile on my face. I didn't really need to act, though. It would have come naturally.

"That's troublesome, but yes. It's a promise then. So, where's do you live?" She answered.

And Ronan choked, Dio emerged from the forest, Sieghart face-palmed and the girls (save Arme) looked at her in question when she said yes.

Of course, being freshly acquainted to them, I didn't quite understand this phenomenon unravelling in my face. And I'm not talking about their reactions. No. I'm talking about the sudden appearance of a piece of paper, or maybe parchment would be more appropriate, in the middle of the table/stump. On top of the food. Ugh. Why did it have to land on the food?

And I'm not talking 'melodramatic entrance with laser lights everywhere' appeared. I meant 'popped out of nowhere' appeared.

An awkward silence descended upon the table. I decided to break that silence, but Arme beat me to it.

"Well, so much for our 1 month mission vacation. A week has barely passed," she said, and took a bite of the delicious meat, not even lifting her head to look at Elesis. "And now we have a fresh one. I sincerely hope it's not that hard."

"What mission?" Dio inquired.

* * *

I sat on a particularly large rock on a riverside, and had no idea why I was there, moping.

I picked up a flat rock and tossed it toward forward, slightly fast, causing it to bounce thrice on the surface before sinking.

The water was calm, so the river must have run pretty deep. The sound of the water flowing was calming my nerves, but it was not enough to sink my memories of her.

Closing my eyes, I tried to remember her face: her pink hair, sharp eyes, the scar on her left shoulder, the black book she carries everywhere, and that red-eyed baby dragon that follows her everywhere.

I hardly noticed the tears that started streaming down my face. She was gone, and I had no way of getting her back.

Had.

But suddenly, there arrived a glimmer of hope, in the form of this boy who claims to hail from another world.

_Maybe that's why he suddenly appeared to me, of all people, from nowhere. _I thought

Looking up, the stars seemed to shine a lot brighter than earlier. Or maybe it was the tears doing that.

"Don't worry. I'll save you, and when you're back, we'll have a lot of catching up to do," I promised to the stars.

I wiped my face… with my left hand. Luckily, I did not pierce my face.

"Ugh, stupid rake hand."

Using my right hand to rub it this time, my face was now both liquid tear-free and opening tear-free.

Looking around, I jumped off the rock and started to walk back to camp.

Well, better late than never, right?

* * *

Lire picked up the mission specifics from atop the meat pile.

"Okay guys, settle down. I'm going to read it just the once," she requested.

All of us quieted down right away. Nobody wanted to evoke her wrath unintentionally.

I still get the chills when I recall what conspired during that fateful day.

Since then, all of us gathered around this table knew that the moment she interrupts, it's time to stop immediately. Well, except for Mark. Luckily, he was sitting beside me, so I quickly warned him. Even if just one of us gets her mad, all of us would suffer the consequence.

I elbowed him. "Hey, keep quiet, kay?"

"Sure, Jin. But why? You seem… worried about something," he replied in a whisper.

_Thank Zen he didn't raise his voice. Good thing he can read the atmosphere, _I thought.

I risked a reply. "I'll tell you later. For now, just don't talk and pay attention."

Lire began to recite the contents of the paper.

"Mission description…"

* * *

[Mark] Worn-out Trans-portal mission (Step 1)

* * *

Mission description:

_Greetings, young one. Let me explain how we found you. I detected an irregular amount of energy coming from somewhere in the Ellia continent so I quickly inquired with the other gods to ask them about this occurrence. To my surprise, they have informed me that they had also detected the irregularity. So we tracked it down and found that you were in the centre of the energy influx. You were lucky, if I do say so myself, to wind up with the great heroes of Bermesiah and Xenia – the revered Grand Chase. We observed your interactions with these heroes, and my suspicion was confirmed: you're supposed to exist elsewhere. I then took it upon myself to deliver the trans-portal to you, so you could return to your home. But much to my dismay, to be able to use the trans-portal, you must complete a set of requirements to be determined by the fates, in a way that is appropriate for the user. I sincerely apologize for the inconvenience. Please bear with me, and I bless you in your quest for the transportal. _-Zen

Mission objectives:

[ ] Fulfil 5 Masteries (Masteries marked with * must be part of the 5)

**Choices**:

[ ] Combat Mastery* – Learn the basics of melee combat under the tutelage of Elesis

[ ] Artillery Mastery* – Learn the basics of ranged combat under the tutelage of Lire

[ ] Mana Control Mastery* – Learn the basics of mana control under the tutelage of Arme

[ ] Mana Manipulation Mastery – Learn the basics of mana manipulation under the tutelage of Ronan

[ ] Terrain Mastery – Learn the basics of terrain tactics under the tutelage of Ryan

[ ] Stealth Mastery – Learn the basics of stealth under the tutelage of Lass

[ ] Martial Mastery – Learn the basics of hand-to-hand combat under the tutelage of Amelia

[ ] Chi Mastery – Learn the basics of Chi manipulation under the tutelage of Jin

[ ] Battle Mastery – Learn the basics of combat tactics under the tutelage of Ezekiel ("Oh, great. They used my first name," Sieghart remarked sarcastically.)

[ ] Accuracy Mastery – Learn the basics of accuracy and precision under the tutelage of Mari Ming

[ ] Self-Defence Mastery – Learn the basics of self-defence under the tutelage of Dio

[ ] Aoi Control Mastery – Learn the basics of aoi control under the tutelage of Zero

[ ] Aoi Manipulation Mastery – Learn the basics of aoi manipulation under the tutelage of-

* * *

"Kindly leave out the name, please," Dio said in a pleading but commanding tone. I had no idea how he managed to be commanding and pleading at the same time, but he was able to pull it off. And as the saying goes, 'seeing is believing,' or in this case, hearing is believing.

"Er, sure. O-of course." Lire nodded. She didn't get mad, of course. All of us knew how touchy Dio gets when it comes to **her**.

I was pretty sure that's how I'd have felt too if the same thing were to happen to Amy, if not worse. I shuddered. _Urgh. Perish the thought._

Some who saw Dio's grave face after saying that felt the same way.

She had been our friend, too. And she was quite close to everybody. Nobody talked. Even Lire forgot about the paper she was holding, probably because she reminisced their good times together. Lire had been particularly close to her. Actually, save Dio, Lire must have been her closest friend in this group. I would never forget how she sobbed like a little girl after our battle with Astaroth. I still remember that jerk's face clearly, like his visage was burned into my retinas. It was his fault that Victor…

I looked to my right, and saw Mark, brows creased to a point wherein connection between the two was a millimeter away. He was obviously thinking this thoroughly. I couldn't even begin to imagine what he must have felt like, being shoved with all of these facts when he must have had no idea what to do about it. I also couldn't imagine being plopped to a place where I did not know anybody and had no company, where unknown dangers lurk. And I hated not knowing things the most. I decided to be extra nice to the guy.

Anyway, back to topic.

I concluded that we would probably be sitting there for the rest of the evening if we didn't get this over with, so I took it upon myself to remind Lire to continue reading. "So Lire, maybe you could carry on?"

The way she reacted, I would almost believe that somebody doused her face with cold, invisible water.

"O-oh, right! So then, …"

* * *

Mission rewards:

[Mark] Worn-out Trans-portal mission (Step 2)

Rubik's Cube

* * *

"That's it. So Mark, you think you're up to this? It basically says you need to seek training from us." She brushed away a strand of hair sticking out in front of her face behind her ear.

"I don't know. What's mana and Aoi? Why do I need to learn how to 'combat' or something? And why couldn't that Zen person just give me these porta-thingies?" Mark asked back. He was obviously confused at the sudden turn of events. He looked like he was ready to get a coma.

Arme stood up to answer. "Mana is a form of energy present in the surroundings which can be absorbed and utilized to do things we normally cannot do, while Aoi is a form of dormant energy inside the body which acts in the same way as Mana, only it is produced by the body itself, so more possibilities and irregularities are present. You need to learn combat, because it is a requirement in your mission to acquire the Trans-portal. The trans-portals are ancient artefacts which are one-time use only, they are too valuable to just give away, so the missions serve as the first line of defence to protect them from thieves. Oh, and Zen is not a person, Zen is a god."

"I'm still confused… A god, you say? But why would a god want to communicate with lowly humans?" Mark asked again, now seething with disbelief.

"Were you listening, kid? We're not lowly humans. We're the 'heroes of Bermesiah and Xenia,'" Sieghart replied, his voice oozing of amusement.

"Hehe. 'Heroes of Bermesiah and Xenia.' Not half bad, though 'Harbingers of Justice' is still waaay catchier." Elesis laughed.

"Don't forget 'Dessicators of Evil!'" added Lass.

"Ya, the's also 'God Destroyers!'" blurted Ryan.

With that, they laughed their hearts out.

"Guys! Don't you see we have a situation here? This is no time to find humor from the 'honorary' titles people has given us!" Ronan said, though he was also repressing a snicker.

"Hahaha! But it's funny! Though not as funny as when you lost that bet Sieghart and the forfeit was that you wear my mai-" Amy started, but Ronan covered her mouth. "NO!" he screamed, but that caused them to laugh even harder.

Even I wanted to laugh, remembering Ronan wearing that frilly maid costume. If I didn't know him, I seriously would have thought he was a girl! And I'm not exaggerating. That was the truth.

I supressed my laughter, though. I didn't want to upset Ronan. I had a lot of respect for him.

Anyway, since I wasn't laughing my ass out, I happened to notice Mark looking down, smiling, but his eyes were getting teary. He was feeling left out, obviously. But why was he getting emotional about this? I'm not an expert of human psychology, though, so I couldn't tell why. I didn't talk to him though. I'm bad at the touchy-feely business, so I probably would have made it worse. It's actually a miracle that I was able to convey my feelings to Amy properly, though I didn't actually say a lot, since she said she already knew. Oh well.

* * *

_Holy. Crap._

I hadn't actually realized the gravity of the situation until that moment. Everything was just too surreal to understand right away.

I had to learn how to beat up other people and how to control this 'manta' or something just to get home. I really was stuck in some other world where I had no friends, no home, no control, and no apparent value.

Now, this 'god' had volunteered his help, but his 'help' was giving me chores to finish so that I can get my reward, like a parent making you scrub your floor, wash the dishes, take a bath, eat breakfast, and fix your bed before he/she lets you out the gate.

And now, these people who were supposed to train me so I could get home were laughing like idiots. These people, who were supposed to be 'heroes' of this world, were acting like normal teenagers from my world out in a camping trip.

I suddenly miss our house. I suddenly miss school. I suddenly miss Ice Pop, my pet dog. I even suddenly miss my Mom, of all people.

And looking at these people having the time of their lives, teasing each other, being annoying to each other, I felt like a voyeur, so I looked down. It also gave me the feeling from earlier, the yearning for friends. I was very envious.

I never had friends at school. Maybe I was just weird. Actually, I'm what you could call a game junkie. Maybe that's why I had no friends. And these people, these people were out of my league. They won't make friends with me, a weakling whose only special ability is to set the global top score in Pac-Attack.

_No. I'm going to change that. They're going to be training me anyway, so to hell with going for 'good enough.' I'll do the best that I can, then maybe they'll deem me worthy of their friendship. _I thought.

How I was going to do that, I had no idea. But hey, I wasn't going to die by just giving it a try, right? Or was I? Urgh.

I then heard something that shook me out of my trance.

"What if we don't train him? It's not our responsibility, right? We're not absolutely required to do it anyway." If my vocal memory served me right, then that was certainly Elesis' voice.

"Hm… I guess not. Wait! Something's appearing at the paper! It says '_P.S. If any member of the Grand Chase refuses to offer their help, then I will personally give that member __**the talk**__. That's all._ -Zen'." Lire answered.

"Oh. So we don't have a choice, huh. Oh well. So Mark, we're the Grand Chase! And Zen just forced us to teach you stuff, and I also promised that we'll get you home, so you can count on us!" Elesis Exclaimed, extending a thumbs up to me, while giving a warm smile that made my heart skip a beat. "Oh, but would you mind waiting for a few more days? We were still supposed to be on vacation."

"Uh, sure! No problem." I nodded a couple of times.

"Good." She nodded as she closed her eyes and crossed her arms.

_Wow. Is she always this happy-go-lucky?_ I thought.

Lire rolled up the piece of parchment, shifted her gaze to me and handed it over. I unrolled it just to check the contents. _But there's no P.S. here! What could thi- oh. She did it to help me. _I looked up again and caught her giving me a smile. I nodded my thanks, though I wasn't sure why.

Either way, I would have been stuck in this world, with no foreknowledge, no experience whatsoever. I guess I was already lucky to have winded up with such people. There was no welcoming ceremony for me though, but it seemed that there was no need. Their actions spoke volumes already. That evening, I felt like I was a part of something. Like I was accepted. _I could get used to this..._

I suddenly burped loudly, which caused them to laugh again. "Excuse me…" was all I could say.

I suddenly felt warm inside. Whether it was because of the burp, or an effect of being surrounded by these weird-haired people, I had no way of knowing. It was probably both, though.

Oh, I forgot to mention that Dio ransacked all the food from the table while everyone was laughing, save a couple slices which he must have saved for Mari.

Hmm... Where the hell is Mari?

* * *

So, maybe you've noticed, but there were no skills used in this chapter, but it turned out long anyway.

Now, I'm pretty sure you guys know who the 13th character is. (You're not worthy of being called a Grand Chaser if you don't) Maybe you'd ask why I don't use her name yet. Well, the truth of the matter is that I'm waiting for her to be released outside kGC, because I have my doubts that her name will be Ley. It might end up being May, or Ray, or even Lay. So instead of using a name which is actually incorrect, I've decided to just skip writing it.

Also, I KNOW that the 'A' in 'AP' means 'Action,' so don't kill/troll me for calling it Aoi instead. The thing is, I was going to name it 'Id', but it wont be AP anymore, it would be IP. If you have any better ideas for what 'A' should stand for, please feel free to suggest. I'm not gonna call it Action though. Never Ever Never.

Also, I've been reading a lot of stuff lately, so I had a lot of inspiration for writing.

Oh, and if you can figure out a good way on how to differentiate scene breaks from regular breaks (skill desc., scripts, etc.) with rulers, then please share. I tried using 2 rulers for scene breaks, but FF removes the other and leaves out just one...

I want to ask you people your opinion on this:

What should be the Grand Chase' Gender-bent names?

These are my ideas:

Elesis - Eli

Lire - Lieren

Arme - Arman

Ronan - Rona

Ryan - Ranny

Lass - Lass, Lad(LOL)

Amy - Amiel

Jin - Jean

Sieghart - Too manly to convert *.*

Mari - Mark

Dio - Dion, Dia

Zero - Zierra, Zara, One(LOL)

What're yours?

Please Review! Reviews are food for Fan Fiction. It'll die without it.


	7. I Get Tired of Thinking

Soranium: Yo! People from this corner of the Fanfiction(dot)net community! Long time no see!

Mark: Yeah! Long time no see!

Soranium: Shut up, Mark. They don't care about you.

Mark: Of course they care about me, Sora! I'm the main character. Your story is about me!

Soranium: I don't care.

Mark: What do you mean you don't care? Why are you writing this thing if you don't care anyways?

Soranium: **Stop asking nonsensical questions and tell them the Disclaimer already!** Sheesh, OCs these days.

Mark: All right, all right. *whispers* I do know for a fact, though, that he's just been slacking off for the past few weeks.

Soranium: Hey! I have my reasons! Not like readers would care about my reasons, but I still have reasons!

Mark: Yeah, yeah.

DISCLAIMER: Soranium does not own Grand Chase. Duh! Does Soranium even sound remotely close to KOG? Of course not! Soranium is just a - GACK!

Soranium: I won't let go until you apologize!

Mark: C-c-can't b-breathe-! Sorry!

Soranium: There. Hope you enjoy it! And don't forget to leave your 2 cents about it, potential reviewer!

Mark: *wheeze* What he said.

* * *

I was halfway through my food when Mari entered the clearing. Thank heavens I remembered to leave her some, because I certainly didn't want to argue with Sieghart about it. Not that I was scared of him, I could surely beat the crap out of him in a one on one duel. What I didn't want was to lose his trust again. It took a lot to make him agree that they needed me to come along. It took a lot more to stop him sneering at me. Heck, it took saving his butt to get him to listen to what I had to say.

Ugh. Why did I have to look so much like that old geezer anyway? He's the reason that the Asmodians think they're so high and mighty, and that humans were ants that deserved to be stepped on. Seriously. It took me risking my life by joining a band of ragtag human warriors (which turned out to be their elite forces) and lashing out against my own kind to make them understand that humans are just as good as them.

And even then, they still thought the only reason that the Grand Chase won was because I, an Asmodian, was a part of it, even though Sieghart was the one who wiped out almost half of their forces. What a mess I put myself into.

They were a unique bunch, though, so I decided to stay, under the pretense of studying human behavior.

Anyway, Mari took the last plate, the one with the excess meat, and a fork, and seated herself between Lire and Elesis.

I looked over to the left, and saw Mark rolling up the piece of paper in his hands, the one with the mission given to him by Zen.

_Speaking of that mission, why is Aoi training part of his regime? You can't mean…_ _But that's impossible! Humans can't control the natural Aoi in their body. They cannot be conditioned to do so, either. The only way for them to utilize it is to be born with the ability to do so! And only our kind is born that way…_

I shook my head and left the thinking for later. _She did always say that overthinking causes stress…_

I relaxed and continued to devour my food.

* * *

_Why did the fates decide to reward the Great magus Rubik's mysterious cube? The wisest of the mages aren't even allowed to touch it, I've only even seen it once, and now they're giving it away to some stranger? No, there has to be a reason behind this… Stay calm, Arme. Stay calm. Don't show your distress._

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

_There must be something special about this 'Mark' character that I don't know yet. Maybe he's hiding something? No. If he was, Lire would have already told us about it. So what's the big deal about this kid?_

Creasing my brows while my brain interlocked the pieces together, I thought of the most logical explanation for rewarding the most important magical artefact to a boy who has no idea why he was even here in the first place. I didn't like it.

_Will he be the one to unveil the mysteries of the cube? And speaking of the cube, what could be special about it? It's just a plain block of grey! What is there to unveil?_

My brooding was interrupted when I felt something… out of place. _A threat._ The others have already noticed too, since they all shut their mouths. Mari and Dio stopped eating. I spread my hand, and it started glowing, then the glowing slowly elongated, forming a long glowing rod shape. The glow vanished, and out came a battle ready War staff. I've been through enough battles to commit to mind that having no backup weapon was a stupid idea.

* * *

**Forge Staff**

Creates a War Mage's staff out of pure Mana. Lasts 30 minutes at least.

MP Cost: 1 Bar

Prerequisites: Battle Mage Certificate, Forge Magic Wand Lvl. 2, Forge Lamp Lvl. 2, Forge Pot Lvl. 2

* * *

I closed my fist around the slender stick, stood up and turned around. While doing this, I caught a glimpse of the boy I was thinking about earlier staring at me with amazement. _Hmm, I guess the magical arts weren't common from where he comes from._

Everyone else followed suit, and stood up… Well, all except for Mari and Dio, who simply continued eating. "Grr, aren't you guys going to help?"

"No, actually," the friendly neighbourhood Asmodian answered, "You guys are more than a match for a pack of wild spinemons."

"Eh? Spinemons? How did you know they're spine-" A loud thud broke my train of thought. I looked for the source of the sound, and found a spike about 4 feet long embedded into the soft loam… right beside Mark. I swear, if I wasn't a battle trained mage, I would have laughed like hell at the expression on his face at that moment. Sadly, it was a bad time for bad humor, and bad things happen when you don't take a threat, even as simple as this, seriously.

I was actually quite surprised that they haven't just charged in rolling like balls, like one usually does.

_Sheesh, why didn't anybody block that projectile, anyway? We have a __**civilian**__ in our numbers, for gods' sake._ After shooting Jin a glare (as he was closest to Mark when it happened), I held my staff horizontally with both hands, arms outstretched, and started chanting.

* * *

**Detect A**

Gives the caster information about the number of Aoi signatures present within the radius specified by the caster.

MP Cost: 1 Bar

Prerequisites: Violet Guild Membership Card, Concentration Lvl. 3

* * *

_23, hmm? So, excluding us, that would be 11-no, 10. _I almost forgot to count Mark in. Instead of using the basic Mana detection spell I was taught in the university, I used the other version I improvised with the help of Dio. Apparently, every living thing has Mana, so even trees, heck; even grass is included to the detection. Aoi, though, only exists in the bodies of sentient beings, thus excluding plants from the count.

The skill was also handy, because it gives me a simple yet accurate location of the detected bodies, even though all I know is in which direction, not how close or how far. Even skills have their limit.

Anyway, the data that I got was alarming. "We're surrounded. There are about 10 of them. If Dio's right, then they're all spinemons."

As I talked, we slowly formed a mock perimeter around the dining stump. We weren't about to let those pointy freaks touch the other three, especially a civilian. _Oh, what that would do to the reputation of 'The Grand Chase'…_ Speaking of the civilian, Mark had yet to talk since I made a staff pop out of thin air. His face was scrunched up in deep thought, as though thinking of a way to help.

We were now evenly spaced from each other and the table, forming an almost perfect regular decagon if lines were drawn between us.

"Alright gang, in the count of three, we charge!" Elesis spoke up. The rest of us nodded.

"One-"

"Two-"

"Thr-" She was interrupted by Mark, and Sieghart almost fell flat on his face, as he already took a lunge forward, and had to stop himself to get back in position.

"Wait! Something's not right…"

One thought came to mind. _This guy's quick. Is he really from another world?_

* * *

"What's not right?" Arme asked.

"Well, it's already been a minute since this-" I tapped the damnable spike which almost kebab-ified me "-landed here. It seems a little off. Wouldn't they have charged in by now, if they were planning to?"

"I… guess so."

Nobody else seemed to be inclined to reply, so I continued.

"Well, what if this is a trap? What if these 'spymons' or 'spikemons' or something are just waiting for you to spring it?"

None of them turned around to look at me, but I still felt like they were gazing at me… It was unnerving.

Dio took his last bite, stood up, and joined the loose circle.

Mari, on the other hand, just abandoned her food and joined the fray.

"Are spinemons smart enough to lay a trap?" Jin asked.

Elesis shook her head. "No, I don't think so. But there's still a point in what Mark said. I mean, they should have rolled in ages ago. Whatcha think, Mark?"

I was amazed at how these people could communicate with each other without so much as a look, but then, they'd been together for a long time, so I thought it was to be expected. But now, Elesis did the same to me. _To __**me**__._ _Does this mean they trust my judgment? No wait, why am I overthinking this? I should reply._

_Let's see… According to what they've said, these creatures are usually straightforward in fashion, and do not usually resolve to attacking indirectly, which leaves us with a few possibilities. First, those things may not be spinemons… but then, Dio's seems to be well-versed enough to know what he's saying that it's hard to doubt what he said. Another possibility is that those things are smart, though I personally doubt that the spike would have missed if those things were smart… So the most possible scenario is that…_

"Someone - or something - might be controlling them."

"Control? Wait…" Arme extended her arms again, similar to what she did earlier. This time, though, her murmuring was much more audible than earlier, but it didn't help, because the words formed in her mouth was foreign to me.

She stopped chanting, I heard a gasp, and she turned around, a far-away gaze and the grimmest expression I have ever come across painted across her face. "93."

''93?" Sieghart asked. "You mean 93 hostile signatures? But earlier, you said there were about 10! That's a staggering difference. If we charged in there thinking there were only 10 enemies, we would've been outclassed for sure!"

"I did say that, didn't I? But I hadn't expected them to be spread out so far… And I detected a significantly strong one from the direction I'm looking at now. If I could venture a guess, then that one would most certainly be the one controlling them all. It left my maximum detection range just now. We can't do anything about that one now… too far."

"You mean the one controlling them is retreating?" I asked.

"Probably because the person detected the surveillance magic I used."

_Hrmm… Go figure. So the big threat is gone now, or is it?_

"Soooo... what the hell happens when the controller gets far enough from the things being controlled?"

She confirmed my suspicions. "They regain control of themselves. Why do you ask?"

"Because of that" I said, pointing at the brown spiky boulder-like thing rolling toward us from behind Arme.

* * *

The stale evening air was ice to my skin as I distanced myself from the clearing where a group of twelve - no, thirteen - people were currently being attacked by a large group of spinemons through my bidding.

I winced as I reminisced what I had to do to get those monsters here.

_Controlling them was easy; they were too simple-minded to resist anyway… But getting them here was a pain, even with that mass teleportation spell!_

That spell certainly took its toll on me. I would have been ripped to shreds, unable to fight back, if I stayed there and continued to control the idiotic bunch of dunderheads.

They were so stupid that it was a wonder they weren't extinct yet.

Skepticism aside, I continued my dash through the cold, unforgiving evening. I felt a pang of guilt flash through me as a thought crossed my mind.

_Poor things, though. They'll most likely all be dead after their encounter with those foolish warriors. I've got to admit, though. They may be fools, but they're quite skilled. That boy in the middle must have been a civilian caught in the crossfire… _I felt another wave of guilt crash down on me. _Meh, no worries. The Grand Chase are a group of honorable warriors. They'd never let innocents get harmed._

Then, there were my other worries. I sighed.

_What punishment would I receive for my failure this time? Master wanted data on the skills of the Grand Chase, but I just blew it by being detected… I really have to learn that spiritual energy cloak thingy that my partner-with-no name uses. Grr… Maybe this would have been forgivable if I took them out, but even I knew that a hundred – heck, even a thousand of those things wouldn't even dent their armor. _I ground my teeth in frustration.

_Sometimes, I hate my job._

* * *

_Holy SHI- I mean crap. Yeah, holy crap is right._ I scolded myself mentally as I almost used a curse word, even if just in my thoughts. But I still thought that the curse word would have been a better fit for the sentence to describe what I was seeing right now, as I sat on the soft tufts of grass.

I seriously didn't know how I should react; maybe I should have been worried, or maybe even amused. But my train of thought pretty much crashed into a gigantic pile of crates, summoned by Convenient-Crate no Jutsu. But then, my reaction was justifiable; I'm seeing things I wouldn't have thought possible a week earlier. Even while I was staring there, I still couldn't believe what I was seeing. So, as expected from a normal human, my brain was completely blank as the shockwaves of energy and cries of agony surrounded me.

"GRRUUUUUGH!"

"Lightning Bolt!"

"Hyper Shot!"

"Striking Snake Onslaught!"

I started counting the number of downed monsters in my head, just to divert my attention. _One, Two, Three…_

"Fuuma Shuriken!"

"WROOOOAARR!"

"Shy-Shy Punch!"

"Titan Axe!"

…_Twenty Three, Twenty Four, Twenty Five…_

"Shock Field."

"Grinding Punisher!"

"Necrotic!"

"RRAAAAGGHH!"

…_Forty Seven, Forty Eight, Forty Nine…_

"Prickle Gush."

"Sonic Blade!"

"Lunatic Force!"

…_Sixty- wait, was it Sixty Three or Sixty Four? Oh, I give up!_

"All right gang, let's finish this!" Elesis exclaimed, a feral grin on her face. The spinemons, as they called it, were now sitting ducks at the edge of a clearing, apparently waiting for the group they were ambushing to make a move. A lot of their downed comrades were scattered all over the clearing. Surprisingly, the beings had no blood.

"Right!" They echoed, as enthusiastic as the redhead. I noted that none of them looked the least bit tired. They even seemed **happy** to do this… I was actually starting to pity the poor things, but remembered the spike embedded right beside me; a reminder of a tragedy averted. I couldn't help but cheer for them as well.

"Go for it!" I raised my left arm, my hand curled into a fist.

Sieghart turned around, smirked cockily, then replied. "You don't need to tell us, kid. Who the hell do you think we are, anyway?" He then returned his attention to the brown pudgy wrecking balls of doom and said "Let's get 'em!"

* * *

"Now **that** is what I call a workout!" Sieghart exclaimed as we walked back to the tent we were sleeping in.

Nobody responded with words, but Jin nodded his agreement with a slight mutter of "yeah," Ronan sighed, Zero didn't budge, Dio snorted, and Ryan grinned as usual.

On our way to the male tent,

Mark was with us, trailing slightly behind. I noticed that he was fidgeting, though he was trying not to show it. Deciding that it was up to me, since I was nearest to him, I asked.

"So, what's up?"

He must've been deep into his thoughts, as I had to repeat my question before he acknowledged it. "Ah, me? Eh, er… nothing, really." _Not too convincing there, dude._ I decided not to voice my thoughts, though, since it wouldn't really help in the matter.

"Are you sure there's nothing you want to ask?"

"Yep, I'm sure… er, Lass?"

"Yes, you can call me Lass."

"Thanks for the concern, Lass, but there's nothing wrong with me, really."

I nodded, deciding not to pry any further. _This walk is taking too long._

Not a minute later, though, we arrived at our destination: a log cabin with the amenities and all, on par with what we are used to in the towns. Yet we call it a tent, because it's still technically a tent, just a suped-up version courtesy of Mari.

It was actually an acronym. Not that anybody would care what it means, but here:

TENT – Transportable Every-Need Tenancy

Yeah, Mari is fond of those kinds of acronyms. It's actually nice to see, though. Based from experience, quirks are developed as a result of emotional stress and/or mental trauma; they are gateways of release for the afflicted person.

As Sieghart touched the doorknob, I heard a click, and lo, the door was open.

"Wow." A word drawled with disbelief, surprise, and awe was heard from behind.

"Wow indeed." Ryan stared up at the two storey building in front of him, arms crossed, as he replied to Mark's comment. "Only Mari can do things like this."

I heard Mark mutter something, but it was drowned out by Sieghart telling us to "Come in already! I don't like waiting."

We walked in, and Mark, the last person I would have thought would talk, asked a question.

"Is there a restroom here?"

Now Zero, the last person I would have thought would respond, answered.

"Second door to the left."

"Thanks!"

Mark took a run-walk, opened the door, and closed it behind him gently.

"Hmm. He must have been holding it in since he woke up." Sieghart commented.

"Nah, he must'a felt it while we wuz walkin' down the path." Ryan disagreed.

I shook my head in amusement. _These people are so thick._

* * *

I lay down in the bed, staring at the ceiling as my thoughts created a chaotic whirlwind in my brain. I already took a bath and was wearing yellow-themed pajamas, from a wardrobe which, according to Sieghart, "comes with the house." A bedroom in the small house accommodates two people, so I was bunked up with Jin who was sound asleep at the moment. Sighing, I looked down on the digital wristwatch on my left wrist. It was saying 4:23:16 A. _Wow, this is so wrong._ I reset it to 9:30:00 P, just so I could have a rough estimate of the time in this place I unwittingly stepped into. I then continued brooding.

_I was at that tent because, as Jin so eloquently stated it, they nursed me to health and took turns guarding the tent to keep me safe. Apparently, Lire and Arme didn't think that the guys of their group were responsible enough to take care of me, but they wanted the guys to have their fair share of work too, so I wound up in between the two TENTs._

Apparently, each of them had protected me from harm and took care of me while I was unconscious.

I still couldn't imagine what could have knocked me out for a whole two days, but I didn't care anymore. At least I'm alive and well, thanks to the kindness of these people who found me.

Well, I wouldn't call them 'normal people' after what I saw earlier.

* * *

I felt a non-verbal agreement establish between the twelve as each of them nodded.

At the moment, there were twenty four spinemons.

The next, there were still twenty four spinemons.

But after that, there were no more spinemons. Not even bludgeoned bodies, or charred remains. They were **gone**. Literally.

I watched as Ryan turned into a white wall of muscle with markings all over his body and wings. Honest to goodness wings. He charged.

* * *

**Nephilim**

Transforms Ryan into the Nephilim, wrath of nature's avatar.

MP Cost: 3 Bars

Prerequisites: Blessing of Gaia, Sentinel's Oath

* * *

I watched as Sieghart summoned a dozen of swords rapidly rotating around him as he rushed towards the enemy.

* * *

**Dark Unlimited Blade**

Sieghart summons several swords and uses them to deal pain to foes within his reach.

MP Cost: 3 Bars

Prerequisites: Highlanders' Pride, Trace Lvl. 3, Immortal Edge Lvl. 2

* * *

I watched as Dio summoned something… a totem? I wasn't sure. I suddenly felt weakened.

* * *

**Kill Zone**

Summons a totem which weakens and takes the life force out of everything in the vicinity.

AP Cost: 50

Prerequisites: Life Keep Lvl. 5, Greater Skill Limit Lvl. 1

* * *

I watched as Mari took out a machine from her bag, as the machine started to levitate and release a beam of light towards the ground that took out anything and everything in its path. It then moved toward the enemy lines.

* * *

**Eraser**

Summons a destructive construct which travels forward firing a chaotic laser.

MP Cost: 3 Bars

Prerequisites: Tech Manual, Mana to Electricity Conversion Lvl. 2

* * *

I watched as Elesis summoned a spear from nowhere and use it to create a wave of energy shaped like a spear which moved so quickly and pierced all it came to contact with.

* * *

**Dragon Slash**

Hurls a fiery energy lance forward. A very powerful attack that travels continuously. However, it lacks a lot of speed.

MP Cost: 3 Bars

Prerequisites: Spear Mastery, Battle Awareness Lvl 4

* * *

I watched as Lass leaped into the air as his arms blurred, throwing projectiles of pure energy towards the enemy.

* * *

**Final Strike**

Leaps and throws seventeen pure waves of energy to the ground

MP Cost: 3 Bars

Prerequisites: Thieves' Guild Membership, Deadly Accuracy Lvl. 2

* * *

I watched as Ronan summoned a large black and blue glowing thing that charged.

* * *

**Tempest Slayer**

Summons a Tempest Guardian that charges forward with its staff. It then creates a powerful aura around itself before vanishing.

MP Cost: 3 Bars

Prerequisites: Magic Aegis' Protection Lvl. 3

* * *

I watched as Arme released a horizontal cyclone channelled from her staff, pointed to the enemy.

* * *

**Air Blast**

Creates a vortex of wind that extends so far that it would connect, no matter how far.

MP Cost: 3 Bars

Prerequisites: Battle Mage Certificate, White Battle Magic Mastery Lvl. 3

* * *

I watched as Lire shot arrows at a calculated angle skywards, raining down like water droplets on the enemy.

* * *

**Chakra**

A powerful attack that gathers strength, shooting mighty arrows into the sky, as they rain back downward.

MP Cost: 3 Bars

Prerequisites: Archranger's Grace, Power Chord Lvl. 3

* * *

I watched as Amy's eyes glowed, and emitted a focused beam of heat while she was airborne.

* * *

**Oracle**

The Siren leaps into the air while shooting deadly beams from her eyes, creating an explosion.

MP Cost: 3 Bars

Prerequisites: Gods' Blessing Lvl. 2, Oracle's Voice Lvl. 3, Song of the Siren Lvl. 3

* * *

I watched as Zero leaped into the air, threw his sword at the ground (which winked at me, by the way), and quickly followed. I didn't see the rest of what he did as my vision was covered by the others.

* * *

**Prickle Gush**

Leaps up and throws Grandark to the floor, then using gravity to push it down further and release its chains to damage the foe.

AP Cost: 50

Prerequisites: Eye of the Sword Lvl. 1, Attach Strength Lvl. 3, Gran X

* * *

I watched as Jin glowed in an eerie orange light, charged into the front lines and abruptly halted, to be covered with what I could only identify as his energy, pulling everything towards him, then exploding to eject everything that was sucked into what I guessed was a vacuum created from his concentrated energy.

* * *

**Burning White Monkey Washing Face**

Pulls in enemies with a massive orb of Chi energy before violently exploding outwards. Improved suction power and stronger explosion compared to **White Monkey Washing Face**.

MP Cost: 3 Bars

Prerequisites: Enlightenment, Perfect Chi Control Lvl. 3, 1 Bar of Burning Chi or Burning Chi Empowerment Mode

* * *

I watched as the smoke cleared, and found they were all fine.

I watched as they all sighed at the same time.

I watched as Mari and a few more returned to the table, as Mari resumed eating like nothing happened.

I watched as the others who did not return to the table, specifically the guys plus Elesis, clean up the mess that were the spinemon's bodies.

I watched as Arme used her detection spell, nod and say "they're all gone" before woozily returning to the table.

I watched as Dio and Sieghart silently grumbled about their butlers being absent while Elesis cheerily hummed while picking up corpses.

All I did was watch, a dumbfounded expression on my face as they continued to work.

I volunteered to help, but Ryan said "s'fine, jus sit thar an' r'lax," so I sat back down.

I then felt my bladder act up, and silently wished they'd hurry up so I could go answer nature's call.

* * *

I sighed again, for the nth time in the evening.

_There's no point in thinking about all of this right now. Mom always said thinking too much causes stress…_

There were still thousands of questions bobbing around in my head, like how is it that two worlds have the same language, why were they wearing full combat armor in the middle of the day, and many more, but I let them drift away as I closed my eyes and let unconsciousness claim me.

* * *

This is my list of super-ultra-megalactic-fantastic-fabulous excuses for posting so late!

**TV Tropes. 'nuff said**

**Reading Fanfics**

**Writer's block**

**Lurking at Forums**

**Summer Project**

**Enrollment Requirements**

**Mood Swings**

**Killing People**

And that's the end of the list!

I was actually stuck at the second line break (sans AN), because I was stumped on how to write the rest... Then two nights ago, BAM it just hit me. And voila, I'm at it again.

I'm very sorry for being late, but then, some authors actually have hiatus gaps as long as a year or two.

Also, sorry for the long chain of skill descriptions.

**nth - **used to denote a number. Character didn't care just how many times repeated the thing it denotes was. Uses nth instead of 200th or 97th.

**Thieves' Guild** - once a very prominent group of thieves, they were disbanded 50 years ago.

Yay! I'm sorry for killing the action. I promise to make up the next time there's a confrontation.

I hope you enjoyed it. It's slightly longer than usual! Yay for me!

Again, please leave a comment. A bit of emphasis on PLEASE.


	8. I Lose My Acne

Soranium: Ah! After 48 years, I finally find the time to update this. What joy! Such a fashionably late chapter.

Mark: You call being late for three months 'fashionably late'?

Soranium: Why yes, yes I do.

Disclaimer: Soranium does not own Grand Chase.

* * *

"Uuwah!"

'Uuwah!' indeed.

I stared at the mirror that my mind was currently accusing to be a liar. Well, my mind's stand was justified, for what I was seeing in front of me was a blatant lie.

My reflection it was. But why were there no pimples? That, I could not comprehend.

This could not have happened overnight… Or could it?

I was in such a hurry the previous night, so I didn't even spare a glance at the mirror. My bladder was top priority then. Now is another matter. At this moment, my top priority was to find out how my acne vanished traceless from the face of the earth.

No, my name is not earth.

Anyway, I frantically rubbed my cheeks, trying to search for signs of blemishing, but all it got me were red blotchy scratch marks. My search was fruitless… You don't always reap what you sow, I guess.

_So, the only time that this could have happened was the span between two days ago and this night… Wait, maybe they're lying to me? Maybe it's been more than two days? Well, scratch that thought then. This could have happened anytime between my lapse of consciousness and the previous night. The question now is… who did it?_

Just then, somebody knocked at the bathroom door.

"Yo, Mark. Anything wrong in there?" Judging from the depth of voice, this was Jin's. But, who knew? Maybe one of them was good at ventriloquism-

"It's Jin." It was Jin.

_Come on_, _could you be a little less killjoy next time? At least let me have some fun imagining conspiracies you guys might be planning against me… Though I'm not really an important person, so I guess I don't deserve a conspiracy, huh?_

I didn't know how long I was out, but I was pretty sure I got up early. After that, I couldn't go back to sleep, so I had a lot of time to contemplate upon my situation.

From the information that I have acquired, it was safe to conclude that I was in an enormous mess.

Why?

I wound up in some place god knows where, saved by a group of mages, knights, elves and demons, sleeping in a supposedly high-tech portable log cabin, wearing yellow pajamas. Oh, and did I mention those things that attacked us last night exist in bulk here? I almost _died_. I don't want to die. Nobody wants to die.

Even worse, they talked about those things- Spymons?- like they were pushovers. So, it was probably implied that they have seen bigger, badder, and deadlier things than those. Yes, I know badder is not a word. Sue me. Anyway, who would want to live in a world full of this much unnecessary danger?

Anyway, maybe you would ask who _they_ are. Well, for your information, they call themselves the _Grand Chase_, whatever that means. I really don't know what their group was for; all I know is that they are a group who fights together. And judging from last night's shamble, it should be safe to say that they have been a group for a long while. Well, whatever. Let's get back to my story.

I got up from bed and went down to the fancy kitchen of the building. Luckily, there was some water there. No refrigerator though… probably because it hadn't been invented yet. The previous night, I forgot to drink anything, so my throat was painfully dry when I came to.

Downing a whole glass with a few gulps, I refilled it as I continued to think my situation through.

I touched my left pocket and felt the little piece of paper that apparently held my only way out of the hellhole I just got myself in. Apparently, some 'god' was kind enough to check on the big energy distortion thingy that I caused enough to give me a legal way of getting back home.

When the glass was full, I stepped back and pulled a chair from the elliptical 8-seater dining table in the center of the kitchen.

Sigh. I took out the scroll that popped out of nowhere last night and unrolled it against the table. After doing so, I examined the piece of paper thoroughly.

_As I expected… I knew my life wouldn't be so convenient._ Staring at the foreign symbols on the piece of paper, I knew I was in deep waters and the gravity of the situation pulled down on me.

A symbol that vaguely resembled the Greek letter _phi _but a bit more edgy, a cross surrounded by a rectangle, a distorted infinity symbol, a triangle with curves, and who could forget the most bizarre, a two-sided polygon. I mean, how the hell do you draw a two-sided polygon? The alien geometry behind this was beyond me.

However, I _understood_. I understood the alien dialect like the back of my hand.

I understood what those combinations of hieroglyph-like symbols meant. I understood how the sentence was constructed from them. Heck, I understood the damn language enough to know that the grammar was wrong in the sixth sentence. I bet I could even write that 'Ooh, eeh, ooh aah aah' song in the language if I wanted to, and it would still make sense… Well, it'd probably make more sense in this language.

It was insane, and I knew it was wrong. There was this nagging feeling that the knowledge was foreign, like my T-cells are telling my brain through the lymphatic system that some external radical that they cannot stop has entered the body.

Have you ever felt like that? Knowing that you shouldn't know something, but you do? It was even more unnerving than the feeling that you should know something but you don't. Unfortunately, I was feeling that too. Now try to mix the two and you get a maelstrom of thought and emotion brewing in your brain.

That was why I have resorted to underhanded tactics to distract my mind, and that included thinking up far-fetched conspiracy theories. Else I might go insane.

Not only that, but it actually took me quite an effort to speak decent English when I found out I was speaking the foreign language unconsciously. It was still easy to write things down in English, though.

Anyway, back to the bathroom. I tried to respond, but my mind was again in disarray. What was I supposed to say? Yes, there was something wrong, but that would get him worried. I don't want that. I need to solve this myself. This is my problem. It should be my fight.

"N-no, I'm fine. I just slipped, that's all." I managed to get this out while grimacing at the mirror. _I promised I would never lie. Will mom hate me now? Wait, why would I care about what she thinks?_

"Really? Well, just tell Ryan when you're done. He should be outside, warming up..." This he said with the same language I now knew to be foreign. However, I wasn't even sure if my concept of foreign was still accurate. I mean, I had a nagging feeling that the knowledge I have of my dear mother language was inferior to my diction on this new one.

The footsteps got fainter and fainter as he got farther and farther…

_I really should start bathing. I've got a lot of questions, and I won't get any answers if I stay here._

* * *

Last night, while everyone was sleeping, it rained. Heavily.

When I stepped into the clearing from yesterday, there was no more sign of the spinemons me and my comrades had vanquished the previous night. Even the dust was washed away as well.

The burn marks on the grass, caused by the large chunk of rock I had summoned the night before, was still quite evident; it meant we had to move camp soon.

I looked at the plain orange tent sitting pretty near the center of the clearing, where I spotted something lying on the ground near the entrance.

_Wait… are those the boxes from yesterday?_

Yes, they were the boxes from yesterday, the ones which I had dropped. The rain had worn it out so much that the contents, probably 2 weeks' worth of rations had spilled onto the ground, attracting a colony of Microanmons, who were currently working diligently to collect everything they could from the morsel.

I didn't really care about the ants, but this was bad news to me.

Why? It meant that I was the one who will be tasked to visit a village or city and collect our groceries.

I scratched the back of my head and walked over to the tent to clean up the mess.

_This is a drag._

* * *

I was in a bad mood the previous night, but the sleep seemed to have taken away my distress.

I almost scratched my face with my left hand, but quickly realizing that it wasn't a good idea, I switched to my right and tried to combat the itch that just didn't want to go away.

Thinking back on the events that took place, the appearance of the mission – for Mark of all people – was the most relevant one; even more so than the spinemons' overlarge pack's attack.

The deities of Xenia, under a strict pact, can never give impossible missions and can never give unfair rewards for the completion of the mission.

If it is thought through, then the reward- that Rubick's cube thing- Mark is to be given would be a valuable one, and just for the first part too. Lucky. I tried to ask Arme and Mari about it, but the former just shrugged, while the latter replied "Your search did not return any results. Please try another keyword" flatly. What the hell does that even mean? Also, the fact that Le- that she was in the list means that it is possible to be trained by her. Since teaching requires some sort of communication between the coach and the student, then that would obviously mean that she **can** be contacted. That she _can_ be saved.

I will find her. I will find a way.

And it seems that this Mark person is just the person I need.

_Just wait, I will save you!_

* * *

"I don't want to do this anymore!"

I sobbed. I sobbed heartily. I sobbed my heart out.

The tears flowed as I pressed my face against my blonde roommate's chest, who was trying her best to rub my back with her soft hands, with elegant strokes, and stop me from crying.

"Shh… it'll be fine. It'll all work out."

Her comforting words fell on deaf ears.

"I wanna go back! I wanna go back so bad! I miss them, Lire. I miss them so much! Why do I miss them so much? Let's go back…"

"We can't come back. We have nothing to come back to, remember?"

"We do!"

"We don't. I'm sorry."

I tightened my grip on the bed sheet and on her arm as I clenched my teeth in frustration.

"Why? Why do we have to go through this? Why won't it stop? I want to stop running! I want to go home!"

She gave a comforting smile before replying.

"We'll make it stop. We'll find a way."

"Really?"

I probably should know better. It should be obvious that she was just consoling me, but I couldn't help but feel elation for what little hope her words have instilled in me.

"Of course we will. All of us will. Now close your eyes and sleep. It wouldn't do for our cute idol to have puffy eyes. Your fans will blame me."

"Okay…"

Sniffing, I obliged and closed my eyes, safe and comfortable on Lire's lap, barely hearing her nearly inaudible words.

"…Though our chances are virtually nil."

* * *

THUD-

The dull sound of metal striking the wood rang through the small grassy clearing.

_Ah, taking a few mindless swings now and then isn't so bad, eh?_

Pulling the axe away, I stared at the clean cut I had made and how it was quickly disappearing.

_Now if only trees heal this fast, the world would be utopia._

Keeping my eye on the nanobot-enhanced totem Mari had created for my benefit, I rearmed myself, pulling the axe back at exactly 36 degrees behind me.

Then I move, and less than a second, steel was again upon synthetic wood.

THUD-

_Man, it even sounds like authentic wood. Mari, how do you do it?_

I sighed. The cut was even shallower than the previous one. I just didn't have the heart to cut down things at the moment, I guessed.

I pulled away, and once again, the buzzing sound emerged and the bark was back to normal in no time.

Never in my life had I been happy in cutting down a tree, which is why I have never felt as grateful at anyone as when Mari gave me the DaRT, or the Damage Resilient Totem, because never again do I have to destroy life to hone my skills.

And hey, I just love trees. Trees are life. Without trees, there would be no air to breath. Every elf knows this simple fact, and we have been trying to dissuade humans from destroying trees, for it would destroy the ecosystem, but all they did was laugh at us. They believe that the idea of trees supplying air was preposterous. They wanted solid proof.

Back then, I absolutely hated humans. Why did they feel so superior? Why do they stereotype us elves as weirdoes with long lives?

However, this all changed when I met Elesis and Arme, and eventually Ronan, Jin, Lass, and the rest of the guys. Because of them, I discovered how much of a hypocrite I was. Little did I know that I was stereotyping humans just as much as I thought they stereotyped our race. From them, I learned that there are decent humans. Then there was Lire, another elf, living a life of symbiosis with humans, a life which never thought was possible. She was the greatest example for me, and I respected her a lot. She was the elf I would try to emulate.

Anyway, I later found out that we were cousins, and 1st degree cousins at that. Would you believe it? Apparently, her mother was a younger sister to my late father- the inheritor of the will of Dan- who died in the first outbreak of war between the kingdoms of Kanavan and Bermesiah.

My father was tied by duty to the kingdom of Bermesiah. This kingdom, unlike Kanavan which relied so much on its warriors' combat magic, specialized on weaponry and skill. The war was sparked by the assassination of Bermesiah's queen, which the kingdom took as a declaration of war from Kanavan.

The battle raged on for years. On its 4th year, my father was struck in the heat of battle. One night, some random Bermesiah soldier had knocked on the doors of my humble tree hut and had given me two amulets, my father's Shaman amulets for the heroes Nephilim the destroyer and Magnus Dan, who was once the greatest hero in elven history.

I didn't know why he was a hero, though. I was pulled out of school very early, and I had to learn how to talk myself, because nobody was there to teach me. Speaking of which, I used to speak as bad as a goblin back then, until I got to join the Grand Chase.

The following year, they had discovered that the queen of Kanavan was long gone. They were about to blame it on Bermesiah when Kaze'Aaze emerged and told them that they had been used all along. They tried to strike her down, but she had escaped in the nick of time.

After that, Kanavan proposed a truce to Bermesiah, along with a 781-page- or maybe scroll is the better word- written explanation and apology for the roots of the war. Bermesiah heartily agreed. However, the damage was already done, and the casualties, along with my father, could not be brought back. I say Kudos to those scribes who wrote that book stopper report.

A year later, the collective strength of Kanavan and Bermesiah organized a party of trackers to search and destroy Kaze'Aaze. However, every member of this tracker team vanished traceless, never to be found. This discouraged them. However, two years later, leading the new charge was Knight Master Eniede, and she organized the _Grand Chase_, a collective of elites where trackers are grouped into three-man cells and are sent on their separate ways.

This was when Elesis, Lire and Arme had met. Apparently, Eniede saw much potential in them, so much that she thought they would surpass her- which they did eventually, but that is a story for another time- and so sent them on the most dangerous trek there was at the time.

Anyway, their three-man cell, which was already a six-man cell by the time they encountered Kaze'Aaze, and their victory gained them so much fame that even when Eniede disbanded the Grand Chase because its goal was already achieved, the group stuck with the name, and eventually, the misadventures of the Grand Chase were so widespread that they became heroes.

But then again, peace is never constant. The Grand Chase is staring down the biggest pickle they had ever faced. And-

Wait, I am getting very off-topic here. Man, talking about my dad and the war is tiring, bothersome and saddening. And I thought the only thing in the world that's tiring, bothersome and saddening at the same time was listening to how I talk. I stand corrected.

Anyway, I walked towards DaRT and pressed this little button on top which caused it to slink back into its portable cubic form. I picked up the little wood-like cube and pocketed it.

_Ah, now it's time for a jog. I-_

"Hey, um, er, Ryan, Jin told me to call you when I finish using the bathroom."

I turned my head and saw Mark, the stranger with a big appetite who we took into camp a few days ago, standing in a somewhat conscious manner while looking at me. It must have been him who called me.

_Ah, I guess a bath ain't too bad, either._

"Yea, sure, comin' righ up!"

* * *

'Hey. Hey Zen. How sure are you that this plan will be effective again?'

I was staring down a temple window when I heard the telepathic whisper, and I inclined my head slightly to breathe in some fresh air before turning around and walking back into the room, to my good old comfy recliner.

'Well… How do I say this? The chances of this working are actually quite slim, but my gut is telling me that this is going to work.'

Crashing down on the modified chair I had made myself, I rested my head against the headrest, only to flinch from the next not-really-a-whisper-more-like-a-shout message.

'Well it better! If it doesn't, I am sooo gutting you like a fish!'

'…_Female rage is scary…'_

'I heard that!'

_Oops._

Not giving her time to rage some more, I intruded.

'Anyway, I'm giving him all that he needs, you know. Well, all that I can be allowed to provide, anyway.'

Sighing, I leaned back against the soft pillow-like headrest and closed my eyes.

'I know how you feel. If only we can give information, huh?'

'Well, we're just gonna have to leave them to their own devices, I guess. Sometimes, we have no choice but to leave them to their own devices, ne?'

'Whatever, oh captain of SS Redundancy. It's almost been a year since I got assigned as the new God of Ascension, but I guess I still have a lot to get used to.'

Something that I would probably never forget for the rest of my eternal life was how the Grand Chase had saved us, and probably the whole world, by defeating the late Former God of Ascension, Thanatos. Then they had to save the world _again_ when the orb of ascension was stolen, but that is a tale for another time.

'It hasn't even been a year, huh?'

'Yeah. Not a year ago, I was in these same chambers, not a god just yet, but I might as well had been one since I was quite powerful even then, getting my ass handed to me by them.'

'What a coincidence. Me too!'

Laughter reigned, then silence. She continued.

'So, what does the threads of time say?'

'I don't see anything, actually.'

'Say what?'

'I said I don't see anything, actually.'

'Really? That's new. Never happened before, hasn't it?'

'Why did you think I was so uncertain about this one, anyway? The internet?'

This world didn't even have internet… Well, it did, but it's not that widespread yet.

'It's that serious, huh?'

'You could put it that way.'

'Well, I guess I'll leave things up to you guys. I'm pretty much a minor god in terms of seniority.'

'Stop undermining yourself. You're a lot better than you think.'

Then, in a disbelieving tone, she thought in such I way that I felt she was talking close to me, even though we were miles apart.

'Hmm? Really?'

'Yes, really.'

No reply came. She must have disconnected.

_I hope when the time comes, you'll help me help them, Iblis._

I then give up on staying awake and let the night claim me.

* * *

Chapter End

* * *

I hate myself. And I hate myself even more for making you wait (if anyone actually waited) for me to get this out.

Well, reality has its way of blocking people from doing things.

Then there's my recent distraction due to books, Stepmania, Tetris and other obsessions. Oh, and did I mention school?

Anyway, I am very sorry for not updating this earlier, even though I can.

From now on, I will try to update this at least once every two weeks... After I edit the previous chapters. Seriously, I have no idea how you guys got past those monsters I had released into the world. I had reread them, and I felt the need to barf every other sentence. That's how badly written they were in my eyes.

Anywho, I don't really feel like writing a long and drawn out AN like I usually do. See, even my intro skit wasn't that long. Slump ensues.

Ciao!

-Soranium

/T&F


End file.
